Carbon Copy
by Calicocats45
Summary: With Paige, Emily's always found comfort, stability, safety. But, is that what she wants? When CeCe Drake returns to Rosewood, will she find happiness in the girl who bears uncanny resemblance to Emily's first love, Alison Dilaurentis? Slightly AU, the "A" in this story is not the canon "A"
1. Chapter 1

Running was a phenomenal feeling. Not quite as incredible as swimming, nothing was, but the next best thing for sure. Nothing to hear but the adrenaline-pumping music in your ears and nothing to feel but the wind on your face. It was like a trance, a trance that Emily was quickly thrown out of when she crashed into someone she hadn't even noticed.

Emily caught herself before stumbling forwards. She was in a rush and only cared to mumble a small apology, knowing she had to get home if she planned on making it to Paige's by five.

"In a rush, Americano?" a familiar voice asked. Emily glanced up in surprise, recognizing CeCe Drake, whom she hadn't seen in months.

The tall blonde was carrying a stack of four or five colourful boxes, one of which had fallen upon impact. Emily bent over to pick it up, placing it delicately on top of the stack which looked awfully unsteady in the other girl's hands.

"It's been a while," Emily commented.

"Oh, I know! Starting up a business is _not_ an easy task," CeCe replied. "But what about you? What's got you in such a rush that you needed to run straight through me?"

"I have a date," Emily said sheepishly.

"You're still with pi-" CeCe seemed to catch herself, hastily correcting her slip-up, "Paige, right?"

Emily nodded, ignoring the mistake but still somewhat annoyed by what sounded like disapproval in the blonde's tone. "Yeah, I am," Emily realized too late the hardness of her tone.

"Whoa, didn't mean to step on your toes," CeCe replied, smirking a bit at the brunette's defensiveness. "I hope she treats you well, Emily. You deserve it," CeCe winked at Emily from behind the boxes, flashing a small smile that felt oddly sweet. It wouldn't have felt odd at all on anyone else, but no one was oblivious to the fact that CeCe was the spitting image of Emily's late best friend, and first love, Alison Dilaurentis. Yet, while Ali had always been manipulative, playing Emily's love like it was but a game to her and hiding behind masks of sweet smiles and innocent expressions, CeCe's smile was honest, something foreign to the face of Alison.

"She does," Emily said, letting down her defenses a bit.

"Good," CeCe nodded. "Well then you'd better get going, it's not polite to leave a girl

waiting."

"Right," Emily was a bit annoyed with herself about engaging in the conversation and

almost forgetting about her date.

"But, before you go," CeCe set down the boxes, pulled a bit of paper and a pen from her pocket, and scribbled something down before handing it to Emily.

"What's this for?" Emily asked, looking down at the phone number messily written, but still relatively legible.

"Future reference,"

"She's bad news, Em," Paige stated.

Emily leaned against her girlfriend, barely paying attention to the old movie they were watching. Aria had gushed about it, but Emily decided she prefered her films in colour.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked, looking up at Paige.

"She's practically Alison herself. The first time I saw her, I almost turned and ran thinking Alison had risen from the grave," this was supposed to be humourous, but Emily didn't laugh.

"She's not Alison," Emily replied coolly.

"I just think it's best you stay away from her," Paige said.

"And I think I can talk to whoever I want," Emily countered, sitting up to steadily meet her girlfriend's gaze.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt again," Paige tried to reassure her, reaching to touch Emily's hand, which she quickly moved away.

"By who? Alison? Because last time I checked, Paige, Ali's dead,"

"And yet her carbon copy's still walking," Paige muttered.

Emily began to wonder why she was defending CeCe at all. They were barely friends, while Paige and Emily had exchanged 'I love you's' numerous times. She wondered if she should just respect her girlfriend's wishes, yet she couldn't stop herself.

"You can't keep me on a leash, Paige!" she had more to say, but with terrible timing, her phone vibrated to reveal a text from CeCe.

 **Hey! My salon opens tomorrow, care to come over and give it a review before the big day?**

Paige managed to grab the phone before Emily, eyeing the text suspiciously.

"She has your number?" Paige asked skeptically.

"Yeah, Paige, that's what friends do."

"Friends with salon benefits, apparently,"

"Seriously, Paige?" Emily shook her head, grabbing her coat off of the couch and standing up.

"Where are you going?" Paige asked, getting up as well.

"Out." Emily retorted dryly. "Or do I have to run that by you now?" Emily turned around without waiting for a response and left.

Slumping irritably into the driver's seat of her car, Emily mulled over the argument she'd just had. She cared about Paige, she really did, but Emily was never the girl who could be watched over at times, the one comfortable with someone looking over her shoulder all the time. That was exactly what Paige was trying to do, and though Emily knew her intentions were good, she wasn't going to have it.

Checking her phone, she noticed that she'd received a second text from CeCe, the address of her new salon. Because it wasn't too far from Paige's, or maybe just to spite her girlfriend, she started up her car and drove in the direction of the setting sun.

Emily heard a small chime as she pushed open the glass door. The salon was cozy in appearance, with a modern appearance that was detracted from slightly by the scattered boxes and supplies.

"It's a mess, huh?" a voice said from behind her, the door eliciting another chime as CeCe followed Emily in, carrying only a single box this time.

"It's not so bad," Emily replied gently.

"Whatever," CeCe laughed, setting her box down on a comfortable-looking black chair and beginning to unpack various hair supplies.

"Do you need any help?" Emily offered kindly.

"Well, I know you're just being polite and all, but honestly, I could really use the help," the blonde smiled up at her, somewhat apologetic. Emily just nodded and moved to a nearby box, beginning to unpack some of it.

They worked in silence for a bit, though CeCe eventually tried to strike up a conversation. "How'd that hot date go?" she asked, smiling at Emily.

"Fine," Emily replied quietly.

"Just fine?" CeCe pressed, and Emily just nodded.

Emily straightened up, a few curling irons in hand and turned to see CeCe standing behind her. "Everything alright, Americano?" she asked, moving aside to let Emily pass with the supplies. "You're pretty quiet."

"Paige and I got into a bit of a fight," she admitted. CeCe noticed that the brunette seemed unsure of where to put the curling irons, so she reached for them herself. "Here," she suggested, allowing Emily to hand them off and putting them each in their stations.

"What was the fight about?"

"She's just too.. Controlling," Emily selected her words carefully, gazing at the floor as she spoke.

"Ugh, I know what that's like," CeCe replied. "Let's take a break," she suggested, seeing Emily about to reach for another box. "My office's over here, and I swear it's not as bad as the rest of this place.

Emily nodded, following the slightly shorter blonde into a small, comfortable room. Emily took a seat in the chair nearest the wall, and CeCe sat beside her.

"Do you want me to call Paige? Tell her off a bit for you?" CeCe offered jokingly.

Emily smiled a bit for the first time since her fight earlier that night. "After your call to Jenna? No thanks,"

CeCe laughed at that, gazing at the pretty brunette next to her. "Don't let her control you, Emily, you don't deserve that."

"For someone I hardly know, you seem pretty well-versed in what I deserve," Emily's tone was quiet, but the words sounded harsher than she'd intended. She considered an apology, but thankfully, CeCe seemed to ignore it.

"You're a good person, I know that much. You're sweet, loyal, kind… Alison spoke very highly of you," This CeCe was rather different. She was never cruel like Ali, but Emily had always seen CeCe as cocky and overconfident. Yet the girl sitting in front of her portrayed neither of these attributes. Rather, she almost seemed nervous as she complimented Emily, her gaze honest and reassuring. Blushing a bit, she turned away from CeCe's blue-grey eyes and gazed at her feet.

"Hey," she said gently, reaching out to put a tentative, reassuring hand on Emily's when she noticed Emily's blushing. "It's all gonna work out," she promised.

Emily didn't move her hand away this time, instead revelling at CeCe's thumb slowly brushing over Emily's. Turning her gaze upwards, Emily met CeCe's, returning the blonde's warm, gentle smile.

"I'm glad you're back in Rosewood," Emily told her, surprised at how fragile her voice sounded when she spoke.

"So am I, Americano." CeCe replied, not moving her hand. "I forgot how much I love this place."


	2. Chapter 2

Emily felt guilty.

She hadn't done anything wrong, but she felt guilty. She wasn't even sure what she felt guilty about, but as she walked to school, far too distractible to drive, her conscience was loudly distressed.

The walk to school wasn't long, but Emily spent the entirety of it pondering the previous night. Everything from the fight with Paige, which she tried her hardest to push out of her mind, to her talk with CeCe. A small smile played at the corners of her mouth as she approached the high school, her mind filled with the sincerity of CeCe's eyes and the kindness of her words. Had she felt something that night? It was a question that had tormented her mind all night after she'd left the salon. She couldn't have. She was with Paige. She _loved_ Paige. Just because they fought, didn't mean it was over. Couples fight, but they'd work it out.

"What's with the smile, Em?"

Emily looked up to see Hanna approaching her, looking at her curiously. "I take it your date went well?" Spencer asked, her and Aria following a few paces behind Hanna.

"Yeah," Emily lied, forcing a smile and hoping to change the subject.

"CeCe's back in Rosewood," Aria commented. It was passive, but Emily still flinched. Thankfully, it went unnoticed.

"I heard!" Hanna replied. "She's got a new salon opening up today,"

"We should go check it out," Emily suggested, immediately irritated with herself for saying it. She'd just been there yesterday, why go back? Emily knew why, but she refused to admit it to herself.

"Sounds good," Spencer agreed. "After school?"

They nodded in agreement just as the bell rang out. Each departing to their separate classes, Emily spent most of chem lab awaiting their visit to CeCe's salon.

Thankfully, Emily didn't have swim practice. It'd be a whole lot easier to avoid Paige, with whom she wasn't entirely ready to talk, if she could avoid the locker room. She'd nearly made it through the day, too, when to her dismay, Paige approached her at her locker.

"Em," she began tentatively.

"Hey, Paige," Emily replied casually, shoving books from her locker into her bag.

"We need to talk," Paige's voice was quiet, and Emily gazed at her girlfriend, not yet willing to have that conversation.

"Talk about what, Paige? You trying to control my social life?" Emily said irritably, shutting her locker as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Can we go somewhere, please?" Paige put a hand on Emily's arm, but she wasn't convinced.

"I have somewhere to be, sorry," she muttered, pushing past her.. whatever they were right now. Emily wasn't entirely sure. They were still together, but it definitely wasn't feeling like it.

"Hey," Emily greeted Hanna and Spencer, who were awaiting her on the front steps of the school. "Where's Aria?"

"She bailed," Hanna replied. "Said she had something with Ezra,"

Hanna and Emily followed Spencer to her car, with Hanna riding shotgun and Emily in the back.

"So, where even is this place?" Hanna asked.

"I have the address," Emily replied, thinking nothing of it until Spencer turned to give her a curious look.

"You do?" she asked.

"Yeah, I.." she hesitated for a moment before finishing, "I looked it up during study hall."

Spencer looked unconvinced, with Hanna obliviously texting Caleb, but turned away and followed Emily's instructions regardless.

The door chimed familiarly as Hanna pushed it open, Emily trailing a bit behind. Looking around, she noticed that it was nothing like last night. There were no boxes littering the floors and chairs, and everything seemed to be in order. It wasn't insanely busy, with a few customers getting their hair done by stylists Emily didn't recognize. She swept her gaze across the room, her eyes landing on CeCe who was sat behind the front desk, reading a book with a title Emily couldn't make out.

"Hey!" she greeted them cheerfully, getting up from the chair.

"Hey CeCe, good to see you," Spencer replied.

CeCe smiled at all of them, and Emily could've sworn that the blonde's sweet smile lingered on her the longest, but immediately berated herself for the idea.

"Looks a lot better than last night, huh Em?"

Spencer spoke before Emily could agree. "You were here last night?" she asked Emily, the familiarly suspicious look back on her face.

"I asked her to help out," CeCe cut in, smiling at Spencer. "She saved me. I was drowning in unpacking last night! She didn't mention it?"

"No," Spencer replied steadily. "She didn't,"

"How much for some colouring?" Hanna asked, her eyes scanning a pamphlet she'd picked up from CeCe's desk.

CeCe grabbed her a list of prices from behind the desk and handed it to Hanna, who scanned it in a very focused fashion.

"What about you two?" she asked Emily and Spencer. "Looking for a change?"

Spencer shrugged, "I could use a trim." Emily nodded in agreement, feeling oddly nervous.

"Great," CeCe beamed, returning to the counter to write in their names and assigning both Hanna and Spencer with stylists. Emily leaned on the counter as CeCe scanned the book before her. It was a few moments before she glanced up at Emily, her expression apologetic.

"All of our stylists are busy," she told the brunette.

"That's alright," Emily replied. "I don't mind waiting."

CeCe considered this for a moment, but shook her head. "No, come with me, I'll do it," she smiled, looking satisfied with her idea.

"I didn't know you did hair," Emily commented following CeCe as she lead her to a chair.

"I'm a woman of many secrets," she replied jokingly, gesturing for Emily to sit.

As she did, CeCe ran her hair through Emily's smooth, wavy hair, studying it with an intent expression. "Have anything in mind?" Emily shook her head, having not really planned to even get her hair done. CeCe shrugged. "Well, I know _exactly_ what we're going to do. Do you trust me?"

Emily figured that was an odd question, but enjoyed the playful look on her hairdresser's face. "Should I?" Emily asked jokingly.

CeCe leaned over Emily, who was sat in the large chair with a black sheet draped over her clothes. Emily felt CeCe's soft hair brush against the top of her head as the blonde placed a hand on Emily's shoulder. "Yes," she said in a tone Emily couldn't quite decipher.

Emily nodded in agreement, somewhat eager even after her bad day with Paige to see what CeCe had in store for her. The blonde worked in silence for a bit, studying Emily's dark hair fondly and occasionally snipping off some of the ends. Emily watched her work intently through the mirror, casting occasional glances at Spencer who was a few seats down with a tall man who was thoroughly assessing her long hair. It was a few minutes before either of them spoke.

"Thank you," Emily said.

CeCe cast her a confused glance, but didn't cease working. "What for, Americano? We've only just begun."

"For last night, I mean," she clarified.

CeCe was quiet for a moment, eyeing Emily's hair up and down before setting the scissors down beside her. The blonde moved between Emily and the mirror, smiling down at her. "My door's always open if you need to talk, Em," she told her, and Emily believed it. After she shyly returned CeCe's warm smile, her hairdresser picked up the curling iron and resumed her work.

Emily spent the next little bit lost in her thoughts, contentedly watching CeCe work her way through her hair. Curling her hair was never something Emily had bothered with, it was time-consuming and would just be ruined by her next swim practice anyways, but she'd agreed to trust what CeCe had in store and she'd meant it. Besides, from the looks of it, CeCe was pretty good with hair.

The blonde worked slowly, but Emily hardly minded. Occasionally she'd cast a smile at Emily, which she returned through the mirror. Being with CeCe had felt so easy for Emily, who was normally a shy and reserved sort of person. Drawn out of her thoughts by her vibrating phone, Emily checked it to reveal a text from Paige.

 **Em. We need to talk. Please.**

She shoved her phone back into her pocket, not bothering with a response. When she looked back up at the mirror, she noticed CeCe eyeing her curiously.

"You should talk to her," she said.

Emily shook her head. "There's nothing to say,"

"Em, I might not be Paige's biggest fan, but if she makes you happy, you can't just let that go because of some fight," CeCe resumed her work, glancing between Emily's reflection in the mirror and the long brown hair before her.

The problem was, Emily thought, that she wasn't entirely sure if she was happy. It's not like this was anything new for Paige. She'd always been controlling, and she was always a bit too on edge. Hell, the girl had tried to drown Emily! Instantly mad at herself for thinking about things she'd long put behind her, she was grateful when Hanna's voice provided a distraction.

Emily glanced in the direction of her friend, who was fawning over her hair, which now held black tips that contrasted nicely with her pale blonde locks. It was Spencer's concerned voice, though, that grabbed Emily's attention.

"Uh, guys," she began, waiting for Hanna to quiet down. "Toby just texted me, says it's urgent."

"Can it wait, Spence? We'll be done soon," that was a lie. Only half of Emily's hair was straightened, and it'd be at least another 20 minutes before CeCe was finished.

Spencer just cast her an apologetic glance.

"Go on, Spencer," CeCe said, not taking her eyes off of Emily's hair. "You girls were my last clients anyways, so I can give Emily a ride,"

Spencer, eager to leave, nodded and was gone. Hanna followed behind, playing with her hair in her hands as she walked.

"CeCe, you don't have to-" Emily began, but was cut off by the blonde.

"Don't worry about it, Em. It'll be fun," she told her lightheartedly.

Emily nodded, thanking CeCe yet again, who waved it off.

"And, finished!" CeCe announced as the curling iron released the last of Emily's hair.

Removing the black sheet that protected Emily's clothing, the brunette studied her new hair fondly, reaching up to play with the new curls a bit.

"So, what do you think?" CeCe asked, digging into the pocket of the white jacket she was wearing for the salon keys.

Emily grinned up at CeCe. "It looks great!" she praised the hairdresser happily.

"Dial down the shock," the blonde quipped, smiling back at Emily.

Gazing around the salon, Emily realized that they were the only ones left. All of the other employees, having finished the day's work, had left without a word.

"Guess we'd better get going," CeCe suggested, and Emily nodded, cheerfully following the blonde and waiting for her to lock up.

Allowing CeCe to lead her to her car, the blonde headlights flashed as the blonde unlocked it. CeCe opened the car door for Emily, watching the brunette get in and returning the smile that Emily gave her as she did so. As she got into the driver's seat, Emily gave her the address and they drove off, contentedly listening to the current 'top 100's' music that the radio softly emitted.

"You hungry?" CeCe asked Emily after a few minutes of driving.

Emily shook her head. "I'm helping my mom with dinner tonight," she told the blonde, somewhat apologetic.

"Another time, then," CeCe said, and Emily silently agreed.

They took the rest of the drive without words, but it was hardly an awkward experience. Emily felt oddly comfortable in the company of the woman she hadn't known for very long. CeCe was just so easy to talk to, and the brunette found herself mentally comparing her to Paige, though she immediately berated herself for comparing CeCe to her girlfriend. Similar to when she was curling Emily's hair, CeCe cast the taller girl occasional glances as she drove, and Emily smiled at her each time. At one point, CeCe hummed along with a song that played, one that Emily had never heard but immediately decided she liked. Surprised at how much she adored the company of the blonde, Emily decided that she'd definitely be taking CeCe up on the offer to get food some time soon.

CeCe pulled in to Emily's driveway not too long later, and Emily was almost disappointed.

"Thanks again, CeCe," Emily told her, preparing to leave the car though somewhat wishing she could stay.

"Any time, Americano." CeCe replied. "You still working at the Brew?" she asked.

Emily nodded.

"Maybe it's time I check out your workplace." Emily smiled at the suggestion.

"I hope you do," Emily found herself saying, gazing into the other woman's deep blue-grey eyes, which shone almost silver in the dim light.

CeCe didn't say anything, and Emily suddenly realized how close they were as they spoke. Emily could smell the gentle aroma of the blonde's perfume, and couldn't help glancing at her lips. CeCe didn't move, only returning Emily's gaze. Thought after thought crashed against one another in Emily's mind, her head whirring like a tornado. In the midst of it all, Emily was barely aware of herself leaning closer to CeCe, and gently pressed her lips against CeCe, who had no time to even react before Emily had pulled away again.

"I-," Emily stammered, shocked at herself for having the audacity to kiss the blonde. Not only was CeCe probably straight, Emily had a _girlfriend_. Grabbing her bag, Emily hastily opened the door, stepping out.

"Emily-" CeCe began, but Emily had already shut the door, making her way up her front steps without risking a glance back at the blonde.

Angry didn't even begin to describe what Emily felt for herself then. Making her way to her door, she fished in her pocket for her keys, relieved when she heard CeCe's car pulling away. Feeling her phone vibrate, she almost didn't bother to check it, figuring that it was just CeCe, but did so anyways and immediately regretted it.

 **You sure do get around, huh Em? -A**

Emily's heart stopped as she read the text, realizing just how bad things were for her. Not knowing how things could possibly get any worse, Emily unlocked her front door and entered, only to find Paige inside waiting for her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Have a nice night?" Paige asked placidly as Emily shut the door behind her. Her girlfriend's expression was unreadable, but Emily figured she wasn't pleased.

 _Did she see us in the car?_ Emily worried suddenly. Emily definitely didn't want to talk to Paige, not while her brain was whirring with embarrassment and worry. But, the last thing she wanted to do was talk to Paige about CeCe.

"Why are you here, Paige?" Emily asked. Any other time, she'd have felt bad for being so candid, but she was definitely not in a good mood.

Paige looked taken aback at Emily's bluntness, but Emily's mother answered before Paige did, entering the room with drinks in hand. "I invited Paige over for dinner," she told Emily cheerfully, clearly oblivious to the tension between the two girls.

"You don't mind?" Paige asked with a sincerity that only further annoyed Emily. Giving Paige the cold shoulder would be a lot easier if Paige were as hostile towards Emily as Emily was to her.

Emily just shrugged, moving past Paige who followed her into the dining room. The dinner itself was lovely, but Emily could hardly focus on the tenderness of the chicken breast before her with all that was going on. The three of them engaged in rather casual conversation, mostly between Paige and Emily's mother with small attempts from Paige to engage her in the conversation.

Paige was making an honest effort, Emily knew. She was genuinely sorry. But, their issue just wasn't something that could be fixed so quickly. Emily wasn't willing to let herself be controlled, ultimatums were definitely not her favourite. She figured that the issue between them could be resolved, but couldn't help but wonder if it was worth it.

Tormented by her thoughts of Paige and CeCe, warring in her mind so furiously Emily felt the beginnings of a headache coming on. She wanted to talk to someone, but realized quickly that there was no one to talk to. She couldn't ask Aria, Hanna, or Spencer, finding herself reluctant to let them know about CeCe and what had happened, in fact, she almost wished Alison were here. Arrogant and manipulative as Emily's friend had been, she always knew what to do, one of the many attributes Emily had fallen in love with so long ago. Of course, she also couldn't talk to CeCe, she definitely wasn't ready to face the gorgeous blonde. CeCe probably didn't want to see her, anyways, Emily realized with a pang. Emily had ruined a perfectly good friendship with a kiss, if anything, it had probably upset CeCe just as much. Emily worried that she'd misinterpreted her sudden closeness with the blonde, taking it for attraction rather than kindness. Emily had always had trouble deciphering what was friendly and what was _friendly._

The conflicted brunette was drawn from her thoughts at the feeling of a gentle hand on her thigh. She turned to Paige, who smiled gently at her. Then she turned to her mother, who was thankfully oblivious. Normally, Emily knew, she'd love what Paige was doing. It was intriguing and always lead to a fantastic night. But, now it just felt… wrong. Emily didn't feel butterflies, or at least, not the good kind.

"I'll clean up," Emily offered, standing suddenly enough to startled Paige who quickly retrieved her hand. Her girlfriend looked confused, while her oblivious mother thanked Emily.

Taking the mostly-finished dishes into the kitchen, Emily couldn't have been more relieved to hear Paige in the other room giving a half-assed excuse to Emily's mother about why she had to leave so suddenly. Calling out a dull goodbye to her girlfriend, Emily worked on the dishes quickly until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Maybe it's just me, but that dinner felt a bit.. odd," her mother said as Emily turned to face her.

Emily shrugged. "Seemed fine to me," she lied.

Her mother hesitated long enough for Emily to decide to resume cleaning the dishes, wanting out of this conversation. "Is everything alright between you and Paige?" she asked at last.

Emily didn't look at her mother this time. "Never better," she muttered.

"Your hair looks nice," Emily's mother commented, obviously unconvinced by Emily's lie but thankfully unwilling to push it any further.

After having finished with the dishes, Emily collapsed exhausted onto her bed, reaching for her phone which notified that she had two texts.

The first was from Paige;

 **Thanks for dinner. Call me?**

The second was from CeCe; Emily was almost unwilling to read it.

 **Em, are you okay? I think we should talk.**

Emily tossed her phone across the bed, not inclined to bother with either text. Annoyed with herself for letting her situation get so complicated. She hardly knew CeCe, how could she let herself kiss her? It wasn't fair to anyone, especially Paige. Though they had their troubles, Emily loved Paige, she did. She didn't want to hurt the girl who, though sometimes she went about things the wrong way, really did want the best for Emily. Groaning audibly in frustration, Emily chose sleep over further deliberation.

Emily hated morning shifts. Especially on a Saturday, when all of her friends would be sleeping in while she was up serving morning coffees to 9-5 workers. On the bright side, if CeCe was anything like her friends, Emily could be in and out of the Brew before the blonde was even awake. Emily didn't want to avoid her, but definitely didn't think she was ready to face her.

Grabbing a jacket to brace herself from the chilling morning wind of autumn, Emily called a goodbye to her mother and opened the door, only to find CeCe outside seated on the steps.

"Hey," she said, standing up as she saw Emily. "I remembered you worked the mornings and I just wanted to come by…" she trailed off, looking up at Emily with an unreadable expression.

"Yeah, I've really got to get to work," Emily said slowly, hating the newfound awkwardness between the two of them.

CeCe nodded. "Can I come?" she asked tentatively. "Keep you company and all," she offered a small smile, but Emily found herself unable to return it.

Hesitantly, she agreed and CeCe followed her to the car. When they were both seated inside, Emily realized they were in the same position when she'd kissed the blonde, and couldn't help but want to kiss her again.

"About last night.." CeCe began, gazing at Emily when she realized the brunette wasn't starting the car.

"I'm sorry," Emily blurted out. "Maybe we could just forget it? Start over, like it never happened." she offered.

"Emily, I-" but Emily cut her off.

"Seriously, it was a mistake and I know I shouldn't have-"

Cece leaned over, placing one hand on Emily's cheek and pulling her into a kiss, one that, this time, left Emily stunned. When the blonde pulled away moments later, Emily was entranced by the closeness of their lips.

"I don't want to forget last night," CeCe murmured, and Emily found herself lost in the pools of blue that were the blonde's eyes.

Emily found herself without words, her mind turned to mush as the blonde ran her fingers down Emily's cheek, gazing intently as if memorizing every curve of the brunette's face.

Emily couldn't help herself as she leaned in for yet another kiss, mesmerized as CeCe returned it this time. Emily's hand reached up and tangled itself in the soft, blonde hair, while CeCe's hand moved to the back of Emily's neck, pulling her closer. Emily was on cloud nine, and couldn't help a pang of disappointment when CeCe pulled away.

"You're going to be late for work," she said, her voice barely above a whisper as she leaned back from Emily and into her chair. Emily couldn't move for a moment, stricken, but eventually realized that CeCe was right and finally started the car.

They drove in silence, neither entirely sure of what to say and both unable to think of anything but their kiss. Emily cast occasional glances at CeCe as she drove, and each time CeCe was staring at her feet, but always looked up to smile at Emily when she noticed the brunette looking at her.

Emily was about to speak when out of nowhere a car sped towards her, despite the red light it should have obeyed. Emily slammed on the brakes, startling CeCe as she through an instinctive arm over the blonde and watched the car whiz past her. She heard CeCe hiss a curse under her breath at the sudden stop, and Emily felt too stunned to say much at all.

"Sorry," the brunette said quietly, driving again but feeling a bit more on edge.

"Thanks for the protection," CeCe smiled at Emily, though she was visibly shaken. Emily realized the blonde was referring to her arm, and Emily looked back at her, blushing slightly.

"Instincts," Emily said quietly.

"There sure are some insane drivers around here," CeCe commented, casting glances

all too often at the rearview mirror.

Emily just nodded, trying to push the incident out of her mind as they arrived at last at the Brew.

Emily stepped out of the car first, swiftly making her way around to CeCe's side to open the door for her. CeCe grinned up at her as she stepped out and followed Emily inside.

"We all first met here," Emily mentioned passively as she took her place behind the register, with CeCe leaning up against the counter.

"I remember," she replied, smiling slightly. "You stared at me like I had two heads,"

Emily laughed at that, turning away from CeCe to prepare them each a coffee.

"How much, Americano?" CeCe asked her, sipping the cappuccino Emily had given her contentedly.

"It's on the house," Emily told her, taking a sip of her own drink, the one that CeCe's nickname for her was based off of.

CeCe looked as if she were about to argue, but when a customer entered she stepped back to allow Emily to work. It was how most of the morning went, Emily drifting between the occasional customers and CeCe, who sat over on the couches so as not to get in the way. Emily found herself repeatedly making sure that CeCe wasn't bored, but each time she asked the blonde assured her that there wasn't anything she'd rather be doing, and each time Emily blushed like a little girl.

When Emily's shift finally ended, she sat down beside CeCe on the couch, watching the blonde finish up with some unfamiliar game on her phone before turning her attention to Emily.

"Hey," she smiled as a tired Emily leaned against her as they sat.

"Hey," Emily replied. "Are you hungry? I can grab you a muffin or something," she offered, but CeCe politely shook her head.

"I hope you don't have plans, Americano," CeCe said playfully, causing Emily to glance at her curiously. "I figured we could go out for that food tonight,"

Emily grinned, nodding her agreement. CeCe found herself leaning in for a kiss, but their lips only touched for a moment before an unpleasantly familiar voice rang out.

"Emily!" The voice exclaimed, and the two girls turned to see Paige standing in the doorway, visibly stunned.

"I ask you to stay away from her and just to spite me you decide to have a makeout session instead?" Paige's voice was nearly a yell as she approached Emily and CeCe.

"Stay away from me?" CeCe looked at Emily, confused. "That's what you two were fighting about?"

Emily nodded, regretting not having told CeCe the full story earlier.

"You talk about us to her, too?" Paige exclaimed, exasperated.

"Paige-" CeCe began, but Paige rounded on her.

"Can it, tramp," Paige hissed.

"Tramp?" CeCe repeated the word harshly, about to stand up to confront Paige when she felt Emily tugging at her wrist. Emily saw the irritation flash in CeCe's eyes, but the blonde complied nonetheless and stayed seated.

"I can't believe you, Emily," it was as if all of Paige's rage had suddenly been drained, and her hollow eyes gazed into Emily's, shocked by her girlfriend's betrayal.

Emily opened her mouth, about to say something, anything to Paige, but she had already turned and made her way out the door before Emily could even think of what to say.

The brunette was silent, mouth slightly agape as she processed the blowup between them. Were they over? Emily felt horrible. Even if they had been drifting apart, she'd cheated. Paige had every right to be angry, and Emily thought she should go after her, apologize, offer never to see CeCe again and figure out how to make things right. Yet, her legs didn't move and she only found herself leaning into CeCe, resting her head on the blonde's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Em," CeCe murmured, running a hand through Emily's still-curly hair.

Emily didn't reply. Instead, she felt like she was drowning. So many emotions were buzzing in her mind, paining her chest as she thought about everything she'd had with Paige and how she'd ruined it so quickly. Yet she couldn't figure out why, among all of the sorrow and regret clouding her mind, she also felt relief.


	4. Chapter 4

"Good morning," CeCe said quietly as Emily's eyes fluttered open.

Initially unsure as to where she was, Emily's eyes adjusted to the brightness of the room with sunlight filtering in through translucent curtains. As her vision righted, Emily saw a smiling CeCe Drake laying a few inches from her, facing the sleepy brunette. The blonde's arm was draped over Emily, and their feet were entwined.

"Did I sleep here?" Emily asked, her voice raspy.

"More like passed out," CeCe chuckled, gazing at Emily fondly.

Emily began to recall the events of last night. The dinner between the two had been nice, if not a bit quiet. The blowup with Paige had rattled Emily a bit, and she'd found herself uneasy enough to order a drink. And then another. And another.

"Sorry," Emily flushed, sitting up, which caused CeCe to move her arm off of the brunette's waist.

"Don't be sorry, Em," CeCe smiled up at her. "Yesterday was rough."

Emily got out from under the covers quickly, feeling guilty for sharing a bed with the gorgeous blonde. None of this was fair to Paige. She should be apologizing to her ex, not casting her aside as soon as she met someone else.

"I'm a terrible person," Emily muttered her self-pitying thoughts aloud, sitting on the edge of the bed and facing away from CeCe.

"Hey," CeCe said softly, moving across the bed to seat herself beside Emily, eyes warm with concern. "You are _not_ a terrible person, Emily."

Emily opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it. She wasn't entirely sure that she was ready to be completely vulnerable with CeCe. She liked the blonde a lot and always felt comfortable around her, but, was she willing to open up to her? Emily hadn't been entirely open with anyone in a long time. Not since Maya.

"Paige will be fine," CeCe said when Emily didn't speak. "What happened isn't your fault."

"Not my fault?" Emily scoffed, not entirely sure she appreciated the excuses CeCe was offering her. "I cheated on her, CeCe. With you."

Something flashed in CeCe's eyes, an emotion Emily couldn't identify. "I know, Em, I was there."

"And now, after hurting Paige, instead of apologizing I decide to share a bed with someone else?" Emily was disgusted with herself. "Loyal one," she huffed bitterly, remembering her title within the group of friends Alison had assembled.

"I'm sorry, Em. I should have taken you home last night," CeCe said, gazing at the floor.

"Why didn't you?" Emily asked, waiting for the blonde's gaze to meet her own.

CeCe looked up at Emily, her blue eyes apologetic. She didn't answer immediately, hesitating long enough that Emily wasn't sure she planned to answer at all.

"I just.." She began, pausing and returning her gaze to the floor. "I feel better around you."

Emily shifted closer to CeCe, who was looking away from the brunette, and placed a hand on her lap. "Better?"

CeCe nodded, focused intently on the floor. "I.." she began, but stopped herself before she could say anything else.

"You can talk to me, CeCe," Emily tried to reassure her. "It's okay."

"When you first met me," she spoke slowly, as if contemplating each word. "I know some things didn't add up with me. I knew you were all suspicious of me."

Emily nodded, waiting for CeCe to continue.

"I was born in Rosewood, my parents-" she caught herself, pausing abruptly. "That doesn't matter.. Anyway, I spent my life, from the time I was five to just before I met you, in Radley. I could come and go, but I spent most of my time there."

"Why were you there?" Emily asked, not wanting to push CeCe but feeling her curiosity get the better of her.

CeCe finally turned to look at Emily, her eyes watering as tears ran down her cheeks. "When I was born, my name was Charles," her voice was barely above a whisper, fragile as she searched Emily's eyes with her own. "I kept telling my parents that I was a girl, but they.. They thought I was crazy, and I believed them," she was crying now. Emily had never seen CeCe in such a vulnerable state, and each word the blonde spoke broke her heart.

Emily wrapped her arms around CeCe, pulling her closer as the blonde nuzzled into her neck, hugging Emily back. She could feel CeCe's hands shaking as she held her, and placed gentle kisses down her neck until the blonde finally calmed a bit.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," she murmured, not releasing the hug.

"Don't be sorry, CeCe,"

"I just.. I didn't want you to think of me as some freak," CeCe said, and this time Emily pulled back so that her eyes were level with CeCe's, only inches apart.

"I will never think of you like that, CeCe," Emily said firmly, gazing intensely at the blonde to make sure she believed it.

CeCe nodded, and Emily gave her a small smile, reaching up to cup her cheek in her hands. As she ran her thumb along her cheek, wiping away a fallen tear, CeCe smiled back at her before Emily pulled her into a kiss. It wasn't passionate or intense, but slow and soft. It was the best way Emily could think of to show CeCe that she could never think a single bad thing of her. It hurt Emily to know that the blonde had gone through so much just because of who she was, and Emily wanted nothing more than to protect her from all of that cruelty.

When they pulled apart, CeCe stood up, gazing at Emily with eyes filled with emotion. "I'll make some coffee," she said, smiling warmly. "I think we both need it,"

* * *

"You look stunning," CeCe breathed as she opened the door to her apartment. Waiting for her was Emily, who wore a rather form-fitting deep blue dress. The brunette smiled sheepishly up at her.

A week had passed since the emotional conversation they'd had and the two had been practically inseparable. Emily, though she'd told her friends about the break-up with Paige, hadn't yet told them about CeCe. She cared about CeCe a lot, but still wasn't sure exactly what they were to each other. She'd tell her friends soon enough, but wanted to figure out exactly where she and CeCe stood first.

"I thought we were just going to a movie, though. Why so formal, Americano?"

Emily grinned at the blonde. "I have something else in mind," she said playfully, before reaching for the blonde's hand and excitably leading her down the hall and to her car.

CeCe hummed as per usual while they drove, and Emily couldn't help but smile fondly at her when she'd switch from humming to quietly singing the lyrics. She couldn't believe how mesmerized she'd become by the blonde in such a short time, yet every time she met CeCe's gaze, she melted.

"We've been driving for twenty minutes, Americano," CeCe used her nickname for Emily fondly, smiling at her as she reached over to quiet the music they'd been listening to. "Aren't you going to tell me where we're going?"

Emily grinned, casting a brief glance at the blonde. "We're almost there," she promised.

CeCe feigned annoyance, but Emily was right, as they pulled into the parking lot of somewhere CeCe didn't recognize.

The blonde turned to give Emily a curious look, but the brunette was already getting out of the car and making her way over to CeCe's side to open the door for her.

"What is this place, Em?" she asked, stepping out of the car.

Emily didn't answer, instead she reached for CeCe's hand, entwining her fingers with the blonde's. CeCe smiled up at her, and Emily lead her inside.

As they entered, they heard music playing loudly and CeCe grew even more curious, glancing at Emily, who leaned over so CeCe could hear her over the music that grew louder as they got closer.

"I hope you like dancing," Emily said.

CeCe looked as if she were about to respond, but Emily pushed open a door and the blonde's questions were answered. Inside the huge ballroom, several couples were waltzing under the dim lighting. They all seemed rather talented at it, and CeCe wouldn't admit it to Emily, but she was a bit intimidated by how good they all were.

"Come here," Emily said, smiling as she pulled CeCe into a waltz.

"I've never done this before," CeCe told her, casting glances at her feet to try and copy Emily's steps.

"You're doing fine," Emily reassured her, and CeCe smiled back as she seemed to get the rhythm.

"Have you done this before?" CeCe asked.

Emily nodded. "I took dance classes until seventh grade," she said. Noticing that CeCe seemed to be getting the steps now, she snaked her arm around the blonde's back and pulled them closer together so that their chests were pressed against each other. CeCe smiled warmly, satisfied with the dance as they moved in sync around the room, enthralled with each other's eyes.

CeCe laughed when Emily tried to dip her, nearly stumbling but being skillfully balanced by Emily. As the brunette straightened CeCe up, the blonde leaned forwards to press her lips against Emily's. CeCe struggled to maintain a steady rhythm while they kissed, but decided it was worth it, even if she did nearly trip once.

They danced wordlessly, holding a silent conversation with a steady, enthralled gaze. Emily was mesmerized, happier in this moment than she'd been in a long time.

"CeCe," Emily began.

"Hm?" CeCe smiled, wondering if Emily planned to dip her again.

""I was wondering if you.." she hesitated, feeling like a little girl as she sheepishly tried to ask her question, but nervous under the warm gaze of the blonde.

CeCe just gazed at her expectantly, patiently smiling at the brunette who was working up the confidence to ask.

"I was wondering if you'd like to be my girlfriend," she blurted, immediately annoyed with herself for asking the question in such a fifth grader-esque way.

CeCe's smile widened, and Emily noticed the blonde blush slightly. CeCe moved in for another brief kiss, which Emily returned anxiously.

"I would _love_ to be your girlfriend, Em," CeCe told her, causing Em to turn an even darker shade of red.

CeCe leaned in for another kiss, but a loud cracking noise had her looking up just in time.

"Emily!" she shrieked, throwing her weight onto the brunette just as the chandelier, which had been hanging above them, crashed down on the spot they had just been standing. They crashed down onto the floor only a few feet away from the incident, CeCe on top of Emily, who was staring up at her with shock-filled eyes.

"Are you okay?" her voice was breathy with shock as she moved off of Emily, sitting up to stare in shock at the chandelier, which had nearly crushed both of them.

Emily just nodded, exchanging wide eyed glances with CeCe and the chandelier.

CeCe cursed under her breath and Emily turned to see the blonde studying her ankle intently, which now had a shard of glass lodged in it.

"Oh my god, CeCe!" Emily exclaimed, moving to study the glass more closely.

"Could you take me to the hospital, Em?" she asked, gritting her teeth from the pain.

Emily nodded frantically, helping CeCe to her feet and allowing the blonde to use her as a crutch. Neither of them spoke as CeCe limped forward as a less than quick pace. Emily cast her concerned glances as she lead her to the car, which CeCe always returned with a smile in effort to reassure her girlfriend that she'd be fine.

Emily sat CeCe in the car gently, and got in herself to drive off at a speed that wasn't entirely legal. She drove with one hand on the wheel, her other hand reaching over to hold CeCe's. The blonde held Emily's hand tightly, trying to release the pain she felt in her ankle.

"I'm sorry, CeCe," Emily murmured as they drove in silence that was unfamiliar without CeCe's gentle humming.

"Hey, this isn't your fault," CeCe told her, trying her hardest to be reassuring but her voice not nearly as soft as it regularly was.

Emily felt guilty nonetheless. She'd been so excited for their date, having planned out each detail to ensure that it would go perfectly. And now, this. The girl she'd wanted so badly to impress had left with a shard of glass impaling her ankle.

"Y'know, aside from this-" she gestured to her leg. "I had a pretty great time tonight," CeCe told her genuinely, not wanting Emily to feel at all guilty for the incident. Emily was grateful that the blonde maintained her sense of humour, even now.

* * *

"It's going to need surgery," Wren Kingston told them as they sat in the small hospital room. "We'll have an OR cleared in ten minutes for you,"

"Surgery?" Emily exclaimed.

"Em, it's alright," CeCe said soothingly. "It's not like it's my first," she added under her breath, barely loud enough for Emily to hear.

Wren exited the room without another word, and Emily looked at her girlfriend anxiously.

"It'll be okay, Emily," CeCe smiled, reaching for the brunette's hand.

"I should be the one comforting you," Emily replied meekly.

"You being here is comforting enough," CeCe assured her.

Emily was about to reply, but felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.

 **1-2-3, 1-2-3, your timing was a bit off. -A**


	5. Chapter 5

Emily knocked on the door of CeCe's apartment, and was met with silence. She figured that she probably should've called first, but wanted to surprise her girlfriend now that she'd been discharged from the hospital.

"Come in!" a raspy voice called out.

Emily pushed the door open to see the blonde woman sitting up on her bed, obviously having just woken up.

"Sorry to wake you," Emily apologized, handing CeCe the cappuccino she'd brought for her as she made her way over to the bed.

"The coffee makes up for it," she smiled, leaning forward to kiss Emily who sat down at the foot of her bed.

"My breath must be terrible," CeCe murmured, pulling away slightly.

"I don't mind," Emily breathed, pecking her girlfriend one last time on the lips before crawling forward to lay on top of the sheets beside CeCe, who smiled up at her. Leaning into the brunette, CeCe rested her head on Emily's chest, enjoying the sound of her girlfriend's heartbeat, and draped one arm over Emily's stomach as she pulled the younger girl closer.

"How's your ankle?" Emily asked, playing with a strand of CeCe's blonde hair.

"Sore," she murmured, trying not to fall asleep but finding that to be difficult what with the gentle heartbeat of her girlfriend softly lulling her into sleepiness.

"Do you want some ice?"

"This is way better than ice," CeCe purred, smiling as Emily combed a gentle hand through her messy hair.

They stayed like that for a bit, neither moving nor speaking, aside from the stroke of Emily's hand through the smooth blonde hair. Emily knew that it was Thursday, and that she'd need to leave soon enough if she wanted to make her first period, but couldn't bring herself to get up. Besides, she was pretty sure from the slowness of CeCe's breathing, that her girlfriend had fallen asleep.

Startled by the sudden ringing of Emily's phone, CeCe jolted awake, propping herself up on her arm to gaze tiredly at the brunette.

"It's Aria," Emily said.

"Tell her I said hi," CeCe smiled, sipping her cappuccino which had significantly cooled off.

Emily just gazed back at her, and the realization was suddenly apparent in CeCe's eyes.

"You haven't told her about us,"

Emily just shook her head apologetically, declining the call.

"What's with the secrecy, Em?"

Emily didn't reply, so CeCe reached forward to cup the other girl's cheek, similar to how Emily had when the blonde had told her about Charles. Emily leaned into her hand, but still looked uncertain.

"Emily, what's going on?"

"Just because I trust you, CeCe, doesn't mean they .." Emily began, but her voice trailed off as she spoke. CeCe pulled her hand back, studying the worried expression of the brunette.

"Trust? You mean, they still think I killed Ali?" her voice was fragile, but no longer as soft.

"Well, they aren't sure, but.." Emily was again unable to finish her thought.

"But what, Em?"

"But, maybe if I could tell them about Charles-" the blonde cut her off.

"No!" she stated defiantly, her suddenness startling Emily. CeCe's eyes were wide now with anxiety.

"You can't tell them anything about that," CeCe said, her voice quieter now but her gaze no less intense.

"I just.. I just want them to trust you, CeCe,"

"What about you, Em? Do you trust me?" CeCe found herself asking.

"You know I do," Emily said genuinely, but the blonde just scoffed irritably, dropping her girlfriend's gaze.

"School starts soon," CeCe said coolly. "You'd better get going,"

Emily nodded slowly, standing up. "We'll talk later?" she asked, searching the blonde's eyes for reassurance.

CeCe smiled at her, but it didn't meet her eyes. "Yeah, Americano."

* * *

"Where have you been!?" Aria exclaimed as she saw Emily pull up at the high school.

"Busy morning," Emily lied. "My mom's had me running errands,"

Shutting her car door, Emily followed Aria into the school. She was curious about the anxious look on the smaller girl's face, but wasn't entirely sure that she was in the mood to deal with whatever it was for.

"Em," Spencer said as Emily and Aria approached her locker. "Have you seen CeCe lately?"

Taken aback by the question, Emily shook her head. "No, not lately," another lie. Emily hated keeping things from her friends, but promised she'd tell them soon. "Why?"

"Because she's A," Hanna blurted, having previously been on the phone with Caleb.

"What?" Emily glared at Hanna. Her girlfriend wasn't A, Emily knew, but how was she going to convince the others?

"Hanna," Spencer snapped, glaring at the blonde.

"Jason saw her arguing with Melissa that night," Aria said, ignoring the squabbling girls next to her.

"About what?" Emily asked.

"Ali."

"That doesn't mean she's A. Seems like all of Rosewood was out that night," Emily argued.

"Well, considering her history isn't so clean, Em.." Spencer said.

"What history?" Emily snapped.

"That snake in the changing room, for instance? Seemed a bit convenient that CeCe was the only one around," Spencer replied.

"And, Mona did tell her everything when she was in Radley," Hanna added.

"What if this is all just A trying to frame CeCe?" Emily tried to remain neutral, but didn't seem to be doing a great job.

"Why are you defending her?" Spencer asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes at Emily.

"I'm not," she shrugged. "I just think we should consider every possibility."

If Spencer was about to argue further, she was cut off by the bell. Emily, excusing herself to class, had never been so relieved to attend chem lab.

* * *

The day had felt like it would never end. Between classes and avoiding her friends, it just dragged on and on. Not once had CeCe texted her, which was unusual considering the blonde always checked up on her around lunch time.

"Em!" Hanna called out, approaching Emily who was just about to walk out the front doors of the school.

"Hey, Han," Emily replied, not desiring a conversation as she wanted to talk to CeCe as soon as possible.

"We're going to talk to Jason tonight, coming with?" she asked perkily.

"About what? CeCe?" Emily tried not to roll her eyes as she walked down the steps.

"What's your deal with her, anyways? I know you're 'the loyal one' and all, but we hardly know her."

"Exactly," hostility was obvious in the brunette's tone. "We don't know her. So why would someone we hardly know bother torturing us for two years?" She unlocked her car, about to step in when she heard her name called by someone else.

Turning around, Emily saw CeCe approaching her from across the street.

"Hey!" she greeted her, not cheerful but not as icy as she'd been earlier. "Things got weird earlier. Can we talk?"

Emily didn't reply, which confused CeCe until she looked over her girlfriend's shoulder to see Hanna watching them, her expression a mixture of surprise and confusion.

"Oh, hey, Hanna," CeCe tried to sound casual, but ultimately failed.

"Earlier?" Hanna asked suspiciously, not bothering to return CeCe's greeting. "What, are you two like, buddies now?"

When she saw the quick, nervous glance that CeCe and Emily exchanged, Hanna's eyes widened.

"Wait, are you two-" Emily cut her off with a sharp glare.

"Hanna," her voice was low, and the blonde took a step back.

"I have to go… Help my mom with dinner," Hanna told them, turning away without waiting for a response.

"Hanna, wait!" Emily called after her, but the blonde kept walking towards her car without even a glance at Emily.

Sighing with defeat, Emily turned back to CeCe, who met her gaze apologetically.

"Sorry Em, I didn't mean to-"

"Let's just talk at my house," Emily cut her off.

CeCe nodded, getting into the passenger's seat and tightly holding Emily's hand throughout the ride.

* * *

"I'm really sorry about this morning, Em," CeCe said quietly.

Emily was lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling while the blonde sat beside her, occasionally entwining their fingers as they spoke. She wanted so badly to kiss the brunette, passionately enough to embody her apology, but knew that they needed to talk.

"They really think you killed her," Emily said, her eyes still focused on the ceiling.

"I guess they won't be too happy with what we're doing, then," CeCe replied, gazing down at Emily. "Will Hanna tell them?"

Emily met the blonde's eyes, which were looking back at her with concern. "We'll be lucky if she doesn't tell all of Rosewood."

"I'm sorry, Em," CeCe told her, rubbing her thumb across Emily's as she held the brunette's hand in her own.

"You already said that," Emily said, smiling gently up at her girlfriend.

"Not just for this morning," CeCe clarified. "For.. Everything,"

Emily sat up. "Hey, I kissed you, remember? If anything, I should be apologizing."

CeCe, still holding Emily's hand in hers, rested her head on Emily's shoulder while the brunette wrapped an arm around her back, hugging the blonde in tighter. "Do you regret it?" CeCe asked.

Emily laid her head gently on CeCe's. "Never," she murmured.

They sat in silence for a few moments, until CeCe spoke again.

"I didn't kill Alison," her voice was meek, as if she were holding back tears.

"I know," Emily replied, tightening her grip around the blonde in an effort to make her feel safer. Emily knew her girlfriend didn't kill Alison, and was determined now to ensure that her friends knew it too.

CeCe pulled away from Emily, gazing into the brunette's dark eyes. Emily's gaze fluttered from CeCe's eyes to her lips, and in seconds CeCe pressed her lips against Emily's, who returned the passionate kiss. Both arms hugged around the blonde's waist, Emily leaned backwards, pulling CeCe on top of her as Emily planted her back against the bed, never once pulling away from the kiss.

CeCe's body was pressed up against Emily's, her hands entangling themselves in the brunette's hair. Emily's hands were on the blonde's shoulder blades, skillfully sliding downwards to meet the clasp of the blonde's bra. As she undid the clasp, CeCe moaned quietly into the kiss as Emily's hands slid even further down her back.

Before they had the chance to go any further, Emily's door swung open, startling both girls as they pulled suddenly out of the kiss. Looking up, they saw Spencer, rummaging through the bag as she mumbled about Emily's mom having let her in. When she turned her glance upwards, she gasped audibly at the sight of CeCe, who was luckily still fully clothed aside from an undid bra, on top of her best friend. As if it couldn't get worse for the two, Aria caught up to Spencer, her jaw dropping as she saw the two, who laid frozen like deer in headlights on the bed.

Exchanging terrified glances with each other, CeCe got off of Emily abruptly, sitting back on the bed and reaching to clasp her bra.

Emily met the horrified gazes of their friends with a sigh. She had no idea how to explain this one.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** I really appreciate the reviews so far, you're all so lovely and very encouraging! At this point, this fic has pretty much entirely moved away from the canon plot, though references to canon might still be made. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy :)

* * *

"How long has this been going on?" Spencer asked.

"It's-" Aria cut Emily off.

"Are you two officially a thing?" she asked.

"We-"

"Were you planning on-" Emily cut Spencer off, this time.

"Guys!" she exclaimed, quieting her friends.

"Sorry," they both muttered.

Emily had never in her life felt more uncomfortable than she had now. The redness in her cheeks still hadn't dimmed from having been caught, and from CeCe's shifty glances and stiffness, she figured the blonde felt no less awkward.

"I should go," CeCe said after a few moments of silence. As she stood, she felt Emily catch her arm, and turned to face the still-blushing brunette.

"Don't, CeCe, please," her dark eyes were pleading, and unable to resist, CeCe found herself sitting back down beside the brunette, who took CeCe's hand and held it in between both of hers. Truthfully, Emily didn't really want to face Spencer and Aria alone.

"Hey guys, I got your texts!" Hanna said as she entered Emily's room as well, stopping in her tracks when she saw CeCe and Emily together.

"So, were you ever going to mention this, Em?" Spencer asked, glaring at the two.

Emily nodded. "I was going to tell you today, but with the way you guys were talking…"

"That's why you were defending her," Hanna realized aloud, earning a glare from Spencer considering she was talking about CeCe right in front of her.

"I didn't kill Ali," CeCe told them, and Emily felt bad that the blonde had to keep repeating those words. "Someone's trying to make it look like I did, but I loved her as much as the rest of you."

Emily squeezed CeCe's hand tighter, and the blonde smiled briefly at her. Everyone in the room, perhaps aside from CeCe, knew who that 'someone' was, but none said it aloud.

"I'm not the person you need to be afraid of," CeCe said firmly.

"Then, who is?" Spencer asked suspiciously.

CeCe smiled sadly. "I wish I knew, Spencer. Maybe then we wouldn't all be scared of every noise in the bushes,"

Spencer nodded slowly, none of them speaking for a bit.

"So, have you two…" Hanna trailed off with a sly smirk, trying to lighten the mood.

"Hanna!" Emily exclaimed suddenly, CeCe chuckling beside her at the question.

"Maybe if you three hadn't shown up," she remarked playfully, causing Emily to look at her with wide, surprised eyes.

The other girls had looks of mock disgust, excusing themselves then as they slowly exited the room, with only Hanna staying behind for one last statement directed at CeCe.

"I'm glad you make Em happy, CeCe, but I swear, if you hurt her, I will tear-" before she could finish, Spencer had grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room with them.

CeCe turned to Emily, grinning.

"I like her!"

* * *

"Do you need a ride home?" Emily asked. It had been hours since Emily's friends had left and she'd adored the evening she'd gotten to spend with CeCe, even if CeCe did end up falling asleep in the middle of 'Titanic'. Emily couldn't have been annoyed at her, though, when the blonde looked so peaceful curled up next to Emily with her head nuzzled into the brunette's neck. The sun was barely visible in the sky now, though, and Emily did have school the next day.

"You can't drive," the blonde replied, eyeing the flask in Emily's hand.

"Well, _you_ convinced me to drink," Emily handed CeCe back her flask, who shoved it into her purse.

"Don't worry, Americano, my place isn't too far."

Emily shook her head. "It's too dark to walk," she argued. Especially in Rosewood, where everyone had a perfectly good reason for being scared of the dark.

CeCe smiled at Emily's concern, but pressed that she would be fine.

"Stay here tonight," Emily suggested suddenly, to the blonde's surprise.

"What about your mom?" she asked.

"She's in Texas for the week," Emily replied, smiling with excitement at her own idea.

"You sure it's alright, Em? I could always call a cab-"

"No!" Emily replied stubbornly. "It'll be great,"

CeCe sighed affectionately at the stubbornness of the beautiful brunette. "Alright," she relented at last, unable to hide her own happiness at sleeping at Emily's. "Do you have a couch I could sleep on?"

Emily moved closer to her girlfriend, putting a gentle hand on the blonde's lap and kissing her neck. "We don't need a couch," she breathed.

To the brunette's annoyance, CeCe stood up. "You're drunk, Em," she told her, gazing at her with amusement.

"No," Emily replied, reaching for CeCe's hand to pull her back to the bed. "We just didn't get to finish what we started."

CeCe narrowed her eyes at Emily, but crawled back on to the bed. "Is that so?" she asked, and Emily nodded eagerly. "Well, we'll see if you still feel that way when you sober up," she pecked the brunette on the cheek before moving away. "I'll grab you some coffee."

Emily made a disapproving noise. "Can we sleep instead?" she asked, gazing longingly at the blonde.

"Just sleep?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Emily nodded, so CeCe agreed reluctantly. "Fine, but don't come crying to me when you wake up hungover," she said affectionately.

When they crawled underneath the blankets, though CeCe had intended to just let the younger girl sleep, she couldn't help but move closer to the brunette facing away from her. Emily smiled as she felt CeCe press up against her back, moving her dark hair off of her neck before gently planting her lips there. She was shorter than Emily, but manage to entangle her legs in the taller girl's while keeping an arm draped over Emily's side.

"I love you," Emily murmured, to CeCe's surprise. It was the first time either of them had said it, and though CeCe could have rationalized that the brunette was just drunk and tired, she sent chills down Emily's spine when she whispered into her ear.

"I love you too,"

* * *

CeCe Drake walked exhaustedly down the sidewalk. She hated having to get up at such an ungodly hour, but it was the only way she could get away from Emily without the brunette noticing. The plan had been to get back before she even woke up, but CeCe hadn't accounted for the fact that Emily would have swim practice. CeCe sighed as her phone vibrated, knowing the only person who would be bothering to text her before the sun was up would be Emily. Sure enough, the brunette was worried.

 **Where'd you go? Are you alright?**

CeCe paused for a moment, contemplating a response before finally texting back.

 **Went out to get some food, I was going to surprise you! I'll be back in 20 :)**

Shoving her phone back into her pocket, she ignored it when it vibrated again a few moments later. She was nearing the park, the one she'd never been allowed to play at as a child. She wondered what it was like, to go down a slide or complete the monkey bars. CeCe didn't dwell on it, she had other matters to attend to.

"You're late," A brunette was sat on one of the swings. Spencer's older sister, Melissa Hastings.

"Yeah, well, sneaking out of bed while spooning isn't an easy task, Hastings."

"I didn't need the details," she shot back. CeCe had never taken much liking to Melissa. She found her to be much too arrogant, and that was coming from her of all people. Still, the woman was undeniably intelligent. Perhaps too intelligent for her own good.

"Do they still think you did it?" She asked as CeCe took a seat on the swing next to her, moving it back and forth contemplating yet another childhood experience she'd never had.

"No," CeCe affirmed, then thought about her answer a bit more. "Spencer's still a bit suspicious."

"I'll deal with her," Melissa shrugged, knowing she had her sister wrapped around her finger with just one mention of the sisterly bond they both always wanted but never had. CeCe thought that was stupid, but then, she didn't have much experience with family.

"Look, Hastings, I have twenty minutes to get back before Emily comes looking for me, so you better start talking."

"You know, no one asked you to sleep with her. You were just supposed to get close."

CeCe shot the cocky brunette a glare. She could deny it all she wanted, but Melissa and Spencer were more alike than they thought.

"'A' has decided who killed Alison," Melissa said, satisfied with herself for getting on the blonde's nerves.

CeCe was intrigued now, looking up at Melissa who sat with a satisfied smirk, swinging gently back and forth.

"Mrs. Dilaurentis."

"What?" CeCe tried to keep her cool, but wasn't doing the best job. "No. I'm not framing her."

"You are if you want to stay out of Radley, Drake," Melissa said icily.

"I can't do this anymore," CeCe said, standing up and shaking her head in a futile effort to clear her mind of everything.

"This?" Melissa instigated, visibly annoyed as she stood up as well.

"This.. This game! The A Game!" CeCe was talking way too loudly, but hardly cared.

"We both know that 'A' can have you back in Radley faster than you can pop pills. I'd be very, very careful, CeCe."

CeCe's gaze fell, and she stared at the pavement beneath her feet sadly. "What do you need me to do?" her voice was low, defeated, because she knew the Hastings sister was completely right.

Melissa smiled, pleased with CeCe's compliance.

"Just tell the truth."

* * *

"Hey early-bird," CeCe called out cheerfully as she reached Emily's house. Her girlfriend was seated on her front steps, looking up from her phone at the sight of CeCe. "You know, the whole point of 'breakfast-in-bed' is that you be in the bed while you're eating it."

Emily stood up, hugging the blonde as she approached with a bag in hand. "I was just worried about you," she admitted, glancing down at the bag when she pulled away. "What'd you get?"

"Just muffins," she shrugged. "Hope you like blueberry, it's all they had."

Emily smiled and lead her girlfriend back inside. CeCe was glad that the brunette didn't seem angry about her disappearance, but still couldn't help but feel bad. Emily was so sweet and loyal, CeCe knew that the younger girl didn't deserve any of this.

Upon finishing their mediocre breakfast, the blonde leaned in for a kiss that she was so, so reluctant to break. She cupped her girlfriend's head in her hands as she rolled on top of her, similar to the previous night. She bit at the younger girl's lower lip, eliciting a gentle moan that made her smile into the kiss. When Emily suddenly pulled away, the blonde couldn't suppress a small murmur of disappointment upon the parting of their lips.

"Can we talk?" she asked, her eyes revealing a bit of nervousness that saddened CeCe.

"Don't you ever get tired of just talking?" CeCe asked, kissing Emily's neck. "I know I do."

Emily looked up into the oceans that were CeCe's eyes. The brunette always felt like she could be hypnotized by them, as if just looking into her gaze would entrance her, and this time was no different.

Emily looked uncertain still, however, so CeCe went on. "What happened to 'finishing what we started, Americano?"

Nothing broke CeCe's heart more than when the brunette didn't argue any further, and instead pulled the blonde into an even more passionate kiss.


	7. Chapter 7

"I need you."

CeCe looked up from the book she had in hand, a pleasant mystery story despite its predictable ending. CeCe liked predictable, though, especially in a town like Rosewood. Emily was standing on the other side of her desk, seemingly having just arrived though CeCe never heard the chime of the door. The brunette looked anxious, her foot was tapping at the ground and her eyes didn't hold contact with CeCe's for more than a few seconds at a time.

"You're insatiable," CeCe said, smirking up despite the tenseness she felt.

"It's important," Emily pressed, and CeCe uncrossed her legs, which had been resting on the desk in front of her. Sliding her chair closer, she looked up at her girlfriend with concern.

"You alright, Em?" she asked.

"Can we go somewhere?" Emily shot a glance around the salon.

CeCe nodded, calling on Sylvia who, though not the most focused worker, was at least reliable, to cover her shift as she followed Emily.

"Do you want to get a coffee or something?" CeCe asked as she struggled to keep up with the taller girl's quick pace.

Emily shook her head but didn't speak, though she did lead CeCe into the Brew.

Spencer, Aria, and Hanna sat on one of the couches, which was unsurprising. Toby was there, too, though, and CeCe wasn't sure that she was quite so thrilled to see him. Emily sat down on the seat adjacent to them, with CeCe at her side. The blonde noticed Toby studying her intently, and she shifted a bit in her seat with discomfort.

"You knew my mother," Toby said to her, not phrasing it as a question but seeming to expect an answer. Spencer chided him quietly for his bluntness.

"Who are you?" CeCe asked, masking her discomfort with a smile as she questioned the agitated guy.

"Toby Cavanaugh. My mother was a patient at Radley, like you," the statement had no bad intention, but CeCe shot him a glare.

"And?" CeCe feigned disinterest in the conversation.

"And? Did you know her or not?" Hanna cut in. CeCe wondered what had the blonde so irritated today, but remembered that she wasn't on the best terms with her boyfriend.

"Have a name?" CeCe asked.

"Marion Cavanaugh."

"Never heard of her," CeCe deadpanned, standing up to leave when Emily caught her wrist, giving her a pleading look.

"I'm sorry Em, I didn't exactly catalogue everyone in that damn asylum," she told her girlfriend venomously.

She took a few steps towards the exit, then stopped in her tracks. An idea suddenly reached her, and CeCe figured it best to just get all of this over with.

"She's the one who killed herself," CeCe said, not turning to face the others.

"She didn't-" Toby began, but Spencer silenced him with a glare.

"So you did know her?" Aria asked.

CeCe turned around, unable to make eye contact with a very confused Emily, not wanting to face the hurt in her eyes because of how CeCe had spoken to her. She eyed Toby instead, whose gaze was hard. "No," CeCe said casually. "But Bethany did."

"Bethany?" Spencer asked. Emily was silent.

"I don't remember her last name," CeCe shrugged. "But she had quite the interesting relationship with your mom."

"Well, who is she?" Toby asked, and CeCe's expression saddened.

"Ask Jessica Dilaurentis."

With that, CeCe turned to leave, hearing the girls murmuring amongst each other but not being able to catch the sound of Emily's voice. None of them tried to follow the blonde, not even Emily.

"I'm going to talk to her," Toby said, but Spencer grabbed his arm before he could stand.

"Toby, we can't rush into this," She said, but Toby was unconvinced.

"She might know my mom, Spence, we have to."

"Spencer's right," Hanna chimed in, not looking up from her phone. "Besides, how do we even know we can trust her? She's CeCe, remember."

Hanna looked up suddenly in Emily's direction to see the brunette glaring at her. "Sorry," the blonde said half-heartedly.

Emily just shrugged, and Aria glanced at her curiously. "What do you think, Em?

"I think you should talk to her, Toby," Emily said, though her expression radiated uncertainty. She wondered why her girlfriend had acted so strange around her. Perhaps, Emily thought, Mrs. Dilaurentis held the answers to more than just Toby's questions. "I'll even come with you."

Toby looked surprised. "Em, you don't have to-"

"No," Emily said firmly. "But I want to. This could have something to do with 'A', too."

Toby didn't argue, and Emily took his standing up as agreement. Spencer got up as well, announcing that she'd be joining them which, for some reason, Emily didn't find herself entirely happy with. Aria and Hanna stayed behind, and even as they left, she could hear the two discussing their respective boyfriends with the use of words that were not entirely polite.

* * *

CeCe pulled the hood of the red coat over her head, and suddenly felt more confident. She always did, in this coat, as if the hood shielded her from more than just the sun. Maybe it's the fact that she received it on her first day free from Radley. Well, as free as one could be under a false identity. Either way, CeCe loved this coat. She wasn't so sure that she loved everything she did while she wore it, however.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she answered without bothering to check who was calling. She didn't need to, she already knew. Sort of, at least.

"It's done," she stated as she picked up, not waiting for the greetings she knew wouldn't sound.

The caller hung up without a response, and CeCe figured further instructions were on the way. She gazed at her phone for a bit as she walked through the forest, wondering whether or not she should text Emily. She knew there was some damage control that would need to be done with her girlfriend, and CeCe felt guilty for snapping at the pretty brunette. She shouldn't have, and not just because it could have hurt their relationship.

"Close call in there," a voice said, and CeCe turned to see Melissa.

CeCe didn't bother to answer, turning back to continue on her walk when Melissa hurried to walk beside her.

"They're going to question Jessica Dilaurentis, right?" Melissa asked, and CeCe enjoyed the anxious look on the girl's face.

"Toby was practically on his knees begging for answers," CeCe forced a laugh. "They're going."

"Well done, Drake," Melissa smiled slyly, fishing in her pocket for a something before tossing it to CeCe. The blonde studied the glass bottle, admiring the small pink pills inside.

"There's only enough for a month," CeCe said confusedly. She was usually paid more than this.

Melissa chuckled. "Relax. There's more to this task than planting Jessica's name, you know."

CeCe looked up at the arrogant brunette with worry in her eyes. "You didn't say there was more," her voice was low.

"Guess it slipped my mind," Melissa shrugged, only irritating CeCe more. "Anyways, 'A' wants Jessica Dilaurentis out of the picture once Toby's talked to her."

CeCe's expression changed from worry to horror in an instant. "I am _not_ killing her," she said firmly.

"No, you're not. I am. You're burying her," CeCe's expression must have been pretty pitiful, when even Melissa's eyes seemed to soften a bit.

"I'll make it quick, Drake," Melissa promised, and though it was a terrible attempt at sympathy, at least it was something.

"When does this all end?" CeCe wondered aloud, and Melissa smiled sadly at her.

"It doesn't," she said matter-of-factly. "Because 'A' is having fun, and we're stuck here until 'A's bored."

* * *

"We wanted to talk to you about Radley," Toby said as Jessica poured some tea into a glass sitting in front of him. Placing the pot gently down onto the table, the blonde woman sat down as well.

"Radley?" she repeated curiously.

"You were on the board at the time my mother… Died," Toby explained, and Jessica looked at him with pity in her eyes.

Nodding her head solemnly, Jessica seemed to consider this for a moment. "Marion Cavanaugh," she affirmed. "She was a lovely woman, Toby."

"We believe she knew a Bethany. Did you know her?" Spencer asked, and Jessica's gaze flickered with surprise.

"Bethany Young? What's she got to do with any of this?" Emily could've sworn that she heard defensiveness in the woman's voice.

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Emily said.

"How well did you know her?" Spencer instigated.

Jessica looked uncomfortable, seeming to plan every word before she said it. "I used to take her out of Radley sometimes, for horseback riding and trips."

"Why?" Emily asked.

"We were close," Jessica answered simply, though they were all sure that there was more to it than that. "I couldn't bear to see the poor girl locked up in there all the time."

"There were a lot of sad little girls in Radley, why Bethany?" Spencer pressed.

"She was being bullied by another patient," Jessica said.

"Who?" Toby asked, leaning forward on the couch.

"A young boy…" She paused, as if trying to remember a name. "Charles."

Emily jolted to her feet so quickly that her knee banged loudly against the table in front of her.

"Em?" Spencer looked up at her, but Emily was already walking away.

"Sorry, I forgot I need to go help my mom with something," Emily mumbled as she made her way to the door, completely forgetting that her mother was in Texas.

She heard Jessica call something to her, but ignored it as she shut the door behind her.

She needed to talk to CeCe.

* * *

 **In position?**

CeCe replied to the text with affirmation and shoved her phone into her pocket. Crouched behind one of the bushes, she crossed her arms over her chest as a chilling autumn breeze touched her skin. The coat, large as it was, apparently wasn't a fantastic windbreaker. She couldn't see Melissa, but knew that the brunette was around somewhere. CeCe deliberated whether or not she was going to be able to complete the task 'A' laid out for her when suddenly a figure exited the house. Emily.

CeCe's eyes were wide as she saw Emily leave, crouching even lower to ensure that the blonde didn't see her. She saw the distressed look on her girlfriend's face and felt the urge to go up to the brunette and ask what was wrong. She didn't move. Stopping suddenly as she reached the sidewalk, Emily pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed. It was moments later when CeCe's phone rang out. Jumping at the sudden sound, she raced to decline the call, quickly silencing her phone as she turned back to Emily, who thankfully didn't seem to hear and instead continued on her way, thankfully turning the direction opposite to CeCe.

She'd make it up to Emily, CeCe thought. Tonight. She'd surprise Emily at her house with dinner and a movie and everything would be fine. Everything would be fine.

It was a dull half hour of waiting, and eventually CeCe's legs grew sore and she stood up to stretch them, only to quickly receive an angry text from Melissa. Finally, however, Spencer and Toby emerged, driving off in Spencer's car.

 **Five minutes, backyard.**

CeCe studied the new text from Melissa with annoyance. She would have to make her way inconspicuously from the front yard to the back, and wondered how they'd be able to pull all of this off without the neighbours, namely Spencer, seeing. The sun was slowly setting, but it wasn't quite dark enough to mask oneself in the night.

CeCe moved, hugging the bushes she could find as she moved gradually around the house, her eyes open for anyone who might notice her and think something of it. She found a spot near the fence where she had a clear view of the backyard, and crouched in waiting there.

Mrs. Dilaurentis emerged, talking on the phone. She seemed to cut off mid-sentence, pulling the phone away from her ear and eyeing it as if she didn't even recognize it. The bushes near the woman rustled, and she was soon looking around, once calling out Jason's name to see if it was him. When she didn't receive a response, she turned in CeCe's direction, resulting in the blonde crouching lower. She barely took a step before CeCe saw the figure of a hooded Melissa emerge, shovel in hand. When she was mere feet away from Jessica, the woman turned around suddenly and Melissa, shovel carried over her shoulder, brought the weapon down hard on Jessica's skull, causing an audible thump that CeCe hoped wouldn't attract any unnecessary attention.

She was horrified, absolutely horrified as time seemed to move in slow motion. Melissa fled without looking back as soon as Mrs. Dilaurentis and the shovel made contact, and CeCe couldn't tear her petrified eyes away from the sight of the woman collapsing to the ground, the back of her head hitting hard against the grass.

She didn't move at first. She couldn't. She was frozen in place at the sight. The way Melissa had murdered the woman so remorselessly stunned CeCe. In a way, it even reminded her of her distant memories of Bethany. Or maybe Mrs. Dilaurentis wasn't dead, CeCe thought, but she didn't wonder hopefully. If she wasn't dead, she would be when CeCe buried her.

Suddenly she was on her feet and suddenly she was running to Jessica. She collapsed next to her, tears streaming from her eyes and burying her face in the neck of the only woman who'd ever shown her any love. Her mother.

She was in absolute hysterics. "No.. No! Mom… No mom you can't-you can't leave me. You can't!" She pressed her face harder against the still-warm skin of her mother, the rest of her mumblings incoherent. She had to bury her own mother, and fast, but CeCe wasn't done mourning. She couldn't ever be done mourning.

Suddenly, a hand was on her shoulder, and CeCe jumped suddenly enough that the hand pulled back. She looked up, eyes swollen and red, and saw Emily standing with a horrified expression over her. Pulling the hood off of her head, CeCe met Emily's gaze and it was like all of her emotions had been drained. It was like looking into the deep, mesmerizing eyes of Emily did nothing but make CeCe realize what she must be putting the poor girl through, and all she could do was stare.

Her voice was cracked and weak when she spoke at last.

"Dammit."


	8. Chapter 8

CeCe is Red Coat.

Emily hears the words in her mind, but they don't quite register. She'd always imagined Red Coat and the entirety of the A Team to be cold, hateful sociopaths. But that wasn't CeCe, was it? Emily couldn't bring herself to believe it, not when she was finally seeing the face of red-coat. The teary, sullen, panicked face of her girlfriend. Emily wanted to pass out.

"CeCe.." her voice trailed off. She needed to say something, she knew, but she had no idea what.

The blonde tried to blink the tears from her eyes, but more fell and it was everything she could do not to allow herself to be overcome with loud, forceful sobs. She cast one last look at her mother, unsure whether she was alive or dead at this point, and reached for the bloody shovel that Melissa had dropped a few inches away.

"Did you do this?" Emily's voice was quiet and CeCe barely heard it over the panic in her head. Still kneeling, she turned suddenly to face Emily, wide-eyed. Emily recoiled a bit at the harsh intensity of CeCe's gaze.

"No!" the blonde said loudly, shaking her head in an effort to convince the brunette.

"We need to get out of here," Emily felt CeCe's panic now, and knew that if anyone saw them here, it was CeCe that would get the blame. Emily should have been fine with that, she thought. Clearly her girlfriend had just used her for the sake of the sick game she'd been forced into years ago, but she wasn't. _The loyal one,_ she thought bitterly.

CeCe didn't seem to hear her, digging desperately at the ground until Emily realized what the blonde was doing. Emily reached out to grab her arm, knowing that this was wrong, but CeCe flinched away from her grasp, continuing the dig. Emily couldn't believe that just under an hour ago she'd been speaking with Mrs. Dilaurentis, and now she was watching the girl she'd confessed her love for just days ago bury her body. A chill wracked Emily's body.

The burial was sloppy at best, not nearly the six-foot hole that Jessica deserved, but CeCe was in absolute hysterics and Emily knew she needed to get out of there. The blonde was hesitant at first, staring down at the makeshift grave as if she'd forgotten Emily's presence, and Emily practically had to drag her girlfriend to her car. Emily opened the passenger's door, and CeCe was shaky as she sat down, not speaking comprehensibly but mumbling words that Emily lacked the patience to attempt to understand.

Emily drove off and the radio was silent. CeCe didn't hum, and Emily didn't reach for her hand. She was still wearing that red coat, and Emily wanted nothing more than to tear it off and throw it out the window. When she cast occasional glances at CeCe, the blonde didn't smile up at her. Instead, she held her head in hands soaked with tears, and didn't cease her senseless murmurings.

It wasn't long before the two were inside Emily's house, and Emily was more grateful than ever that her mother was in Texas. CeCe followed her inside, her face sunken and eyes hollow, and she didn't answer when Emily politely offered tea. Of course, who better than Emily to offer tea after witnessing a murder.

"I didn't do it," CeCe whispered when she sat down on Emily's bed. Emily sat too, but not too close to CeCe. Not so close that she might become tempted to hold the blonde in her arms and tell her everything would be alright. Everything wouldn't be alright, CeCe was a murderer, or at least an accomplice, and Emily had just invited her into her own home.

When CeCe noticed Emily's lack of a response, she repeated her words louder, with conviction that was lost in the cracking of her voice. Emily didn't agree, nor did she disagree. She didn't nod or reach out. She just sat.

"Oh, god," CeCe buried her face in her hands again, and Emily waited for her sobs to die down, not once reaching out to comfort the blonde.

"Then who killed her, CeCe?" Emily asked, keeping her voice as gentle and cautious as she could, knowing she wouldn't get anywhere with cold interrogation.

"I can't tell you!" the blonde exclaimed, looking up suddenly to meet Emily's gaze for the first time since the burial.

"You can tell me," Emily affirmed, but CeCe just shook her head firmly.

"No! They'll put me back there, Em, and I can't go back," she spoke quickly and her words were slurred with sobs.

"Back where, CeCe?" Emily spoke slowly, trying to calm the hysterical blonde.

"Radley," she whispered.

"CeCe, you have to tell me who's doing this to you,"

CeCe shook her head again. "They'll cut me off, Em."

When Emily looked at her confusedly, she fished in her pocket for a bottle of pills and held them in trembling hands for Emily to observe. It was a few moments before it clicked in Emily's mind.

"Hormones," she whispered her realization aloud, and CeCe looked ashamed.

"'A' will cut me off if I don't play the game," CeCe was no longer crying, her eyes were lifeless and red and she spoke with a hollow voice that was almost more heartbreaking to Emily than the tears.

"This is what 'A' has on you? That's sick," Emily's voice was low, and she was no longer sure who to direct her anger at. "But, why make you kill Mrs. Dilaurentis?"

"I didn't kill her!" she exclaimed, and Emily nodded at her as if understanding. CeCe collected herself before she spoke again. "She knew too much. 'A' needed her gone."

"She talked about a Bethany Young," Emily began tentatively, and CeCe snapped to attention at the name. "She said you used to bully her," Emily's voice was soft, but she still refrained from reaching out to the blonde.

CeCe let out a small, bitter laugh, though she was in no way amused. "That's what she told you?"

Emily nodded slowly and CeCe's turned her gaze to her feet, eyes growing damp once more. "Bethany was the only one who let me be myself."

Emily gazed at the blonde, who hesitated for several moments before finally continuing. "She let me wear dresses and didn't call me crazy. For a while, anyways."

"What happened?" Emily's voice was practically a whisper, as if she were afraid speaking too loud would scare CeCe off.

"She pushed her. Merrion," CeCe's voice cracked. "She pushed her and blamed me."

When heavy tears soon fell from CeCe's eyes again, Emily couldn't resist moving closer to the blonde. CeCe cast Emily a quick glance, as if asking permission, before tentatively resting her head on Emily's shoulder. When Emily ran a shaky hand through soft blonde hair, CeCe nuzzled into the brunette's neck.

"I'm not a bad person, Em," she said.

"I know," Emily replied quietly.

"You do?" CeCe sat back up, her eyes pools of tortured blue gazing into Emily's.

Emily did know. It wasn't in her to believe that this girl, this terrified, sullen girl sitting in front of her was a murderer. CeCe had been dragged into this game the same way she and her friends had. Emily could only manage a nod, despite her certainty.

"Ali was right," CeCe said, smiling sadly up at Emily. "You really do see the best in everyone."

Emily didn't respond, instead wrapping her arms around the vulnerable blonde and pulling her into her, receiving no resistance as CeCe fell into the embrace. There was so much more to say, Emily knew, but it wasn't the time for that. So, they sat unmoving, holding each other as if letting the other go now would be letting them go forever. Eventually, CeCe stopped crying, and eventually, they both welcomed the warm embrace of sleep.

* * *

CeCe woke just as Emily was about to leave.

"Where are you going?" the blonde's voice was heavy with sleep.

"I have to see my friends," Emily said. "You can stay here, if you'd like."

"See them?" CeCe sat up, looking anxious. "Why?"

"I can't keep last night a secret, this could lead us to 'A'," Emily was almost excited as she spoke. 'A' had tortured her and her friends for so long, Emily couldn't even remember what life was like beforehand. Yet, it was evident that CeCe didn't share her enthusiasm.

"You can't, Em," CeCe's voice was soft, but defiant. "They'll cut me off."

"We'll find another way, CeCe," Emily sat down on the bed, reaching out to hold the blonde's hand between hers. "You don't have to play 'A's game anymore,"

Emily's gaze was reassuring, but CeCe didn't appear convinced. "It's not that easy," was all she managed, moving her hand out of Emily's grasp.

"How were you getting the pills before.. everything?"

CeCe looked down, and Emily waited patiently for the blonde to sort out her thoughts. "Mrs. Dilaurentis."

Emily gazed back confusedly. Mrs. Dilaurentis? She knew that CeCe and Alison had been close friends, but couldn't imagine them being close enough that Ali's mother would be providing hormones. CeCe's eyes were closed now, as if she couldn't bare to speak while looking into the eyes of the brunette.

"Why would Mrs. D…" Emily's question trailed off, but she hardly needed to vocalize anyways.

"She's my mother," CeCe's voice was barely audible, and Emily wasn't sure at first if she'd heard right, but the pain in CeCe's eyes when she reopened them had Emily feeling certain.

Emily moved to hug the blonde tighter than she ever had. She had so many questions buzzing in her mind, but CeCe took priority. She'd had to watch her own mother die, only to bury her after all because of some sick, twisted game. CeCe curled into the embrace and Emily held her there, wanting nothing more than to protect the blonde from the world and in particular, from 'A'.

"We'll figure this out, CeCe," Emily murmured into her girlfriend's ear. "We'll figure all of this out, I promise.

"I love you, Em," she said into Emily's chest, arms wrapped tightly around the girl she never wanted to let go of.

"I love you too, CeCe, and I don't want you to go through this anymore."

CeCe pulled away, looking up into Emily's deep, comforting eyes. "I'll tell your friends everything, if you think they can really end this."

Emily nodded, offering a small smile. "We'll tell them," she corrected, and CeCe smiled back. "You don't have to do this alone anymore."

* * *

"So, you're not 'A'?"

"Han!" Spencer scolded, nudging the blonde with her elbow.

"What? Just checking," Hanna argued, but was only met with an eyeroll.

Emily's friends had taken all of this better than CeCe had expected, but she couldn't seem to stop her trembling, even when Emily reached over to steady a shaking hand. They were all sat in Emily's bedroom, figuring The Brew was too public of a place to be discussing this sort of thing, but though the room was large, CeCe was beginning to feel as if the walls were closing in.

"If you're not 'A', CeCe, do you know who is?" Aria's voice was gentler, a softness that CeCe appreciated.

She shook her head. "No, I've never met them."

"Well, you must know who killed Mrs.-" Spencer cut herself off, rewording quickly. "Your mother, right?"

CeCe gazed at the tall brunette apologetically, which only confused Spencer. "I'm sorry, Spencer. It was your sister. Melissa Hastings."

Spencer tried to keep her composure, but shock flashed in her eyes as she sat down on Emily's window seat, her eyes on the ground. "Then, is Melissa 'A'?" Hanna asked.

Spencer shot the blonde a glare before CeCe could respond. "No," she said firmly, her voice low.

The four girls had never trusted Melissa, even Spencer knew that her sister was involved in things that she shouldn't be. Yet, as shady as she was, Melissa was still Spencer's sister, and the brunette had some sort of loyalty to her. Melissa was loyal to Spencer, too, CeCe knew, but she didn't say anything. Now wasn't the time, because while Melissa may have been loyal, she would never hesitate to slit throats to get what she wanted.

"We know CeCe's Red Coat," Aria began, oblivious to the way CeCe winced at the name as she spoke, though Emily ran a soothing thumb over her hand. "What does that make Melissa?"

"A murderer," Spencer muttered barely loud enough for the rest of them to hear.

"She was at that funeral," CeCe said.

"Black Veil," Emily breathed, the first to put the pieces together in her mind.

CeCe nodded, as if the name made sense. "Right."

"We need to talk to her," Spencer stated, getting up as if to do so right now, even though it was late in the evening and Spencer had gotten a ride from Aria.

"You can't," CeCe said, and Spencer shot her a curious glance as she stood. "She's gone, Spencer. She won't be back until someone else takes the fall for my mom."

"Someone else?" Aria instigated. "'A's going to blame one of us?"

CeCe nodded slowly, and Emily squeezed the blonde's hand reassuringly.

"We were all at home when she was murdered," Spencer said matter-of-factly. "Who's 'A' going to pin this on?"

"Not all of us," Emily murmured, and all of the eyes in the room turned to the quiet brunette. "A's going to frame me."


	9. Chapter 9

CeCe held Emily and she wasn't sure she could ever let the younger girl go. This was all her fault, she knew. Because of her, Emily was going to be framed and Emily was going to jail. All because CeCe had dragged her further into this horrible game than the sweet brunette ever deserved.

Spencer, Aria, and Hanna had left over an hour ago, going off to find some way to stop 'A' from framing Emily. It was useless, CeCe figured. 'A' had been outsmarting all of them for years now, and there was no way that they were suddenly going to beat the anonymous culprit at their own game. CeCe stroked Emily's hair as they sat on the bed, the brunette's head resting soundly on CeCe's chest and their legs entwined. The blonde figured that Emily had fallen asleep, lulled by the rise and fall of her chest, until Emily nuzzled her face into CeCe's neck.

"Hey," CeCe said softly as Emily stretched out her legs, stiff from having slept in such a position. "Sleep well?"

Emily nodded slightly, pulling back to look up at CeCe with tired brown eyes. "You know, every time I wake up, I still have those few seconds where I forget all about the 'A' game," Emily said, her voice raspy with sleep. "It almost feels like everything is normal."

"Almost," CeCe echoed quietly.

"I'm sorry," Emily said, and when CeCe tilted her head to the side in confusion, she elaborated. "About your mother."

CeCe let out a gentle sigh, dropping the brunette's gaze. In the midst of things, Emily had never had a chance to talk to CeCe about her mother, and CeCe hadn't expected her to. She had buried her, after all, and figured she didn't really deserve any sympathy. She could have stopped it, but she didn't, and CeCe couldn't help but feel just as responsible as Melissa, even if it hadn't been her that brought the shovel down on Jessica's head.

CeCe couldn't bring herself to say anything in response, but just nodded at Emily and offered a small, sad smile.

"It'll all be okay," CeCe said quietly after a few moments of silence, and she wasn't sure whether she was talking to Emily or herself, but she felt the need to say it. Somehow, she thought that maybe saying it aloud was what it would take to make it real.

"You think so?" Emily asked, looking up at CeCe with nervous, perhaps hopeful eyes.

"I know so," CeCe replied, running her hand through dark hair as she contemplated her own answer. Truth was, she didn't know so, not in the slightest. She needed for everything to be okay, however, if not for her own sake then for Emily's.

"I love you," Emily said, and though it wasn't the first time the brunette had said it, CeCe couldn't help a twinge of surprise.

"Even after I lied to you?" CeCe asked, and Emily could see nothing but worry in her blue eyes. CeCe wasn't so sure that, after everything she'd done, she even deserved love, much less from someone as incredible as Emily.

"I do wish you'd told me sooner," Emily admitted, and CeCe gazed back remorsefully, because she wished the same. "I could have helped you. I would have, CeCe,"

"I know," CeCe murmured, gently kissing the brunette's forehead.

"You can tell me anything," Emily pressed, needing CeCe to believe that she could trust her. Emily knew only a bit of CeCe's past, but she could see the pain in the blonde's sullen gaze, the sort of pain that came from a lifetime of negligence and beration.

Emily seemed to be waiting for something to signify that CeCe understood that she could tell the brunette anything, but CeCe found herself unable to give it. Instead, she pulled Emily tighter into her, pressing her lips gently against her girlfriend's.

"I love you too, Emily," she whispered as they pulled apart.

Emily laid her head back down onto CeCe's chest, contented by her steady heartbeat. They laid in silence for a bit, with Emily drawing patterns with her finger on CeCe's stomach while the blonde gently toyed with a loose strand of dark hair. Enjoying each other's company without the need for words, Emily found sleep to be tempting once more, but her eyes fluttered open when CeCe began to speak.

"When I was in Radley, my mom was the only one who ever came to visit me," CeCe's voice was frail as she spoke, and she continued when she felt Emily nod into her chest, a confirmation that the brunette was still awake.

"She used to buy me dresses and tell me I was pretty and she.. she made me feel like I wasn't worthless," she continued, feeling her eyes growing wet with unshed tears.

"You were never worthless, CeCe," Emily said gently, sitting up so she could gaze into the blonde's eyes.

CeCe smiled, but it was more with bitter reminiscence than contentedness. "That's not what my dad thought," she replied sadly.

"He never got to know you," Emily said, reaching out to cup the blonde's cheek in her hand. "The _real_ you."

CeCe turned her gaze downwards. "The real me," she repeated sullenly. "I don't think I know who that is anymore."

"Well," Emily began, cupping the blonde's cheek and gently turning her head so that CeCe was looking at her. "She's beautiful, and sweet, and has an _amazing_ fashion sense."

CeCe smiled in spite of herself at Emily, who leaned in to gently peck her on the lips. She gazed into the warm brown eyes of her incredible girlfriend. Emily was beyond amazing, CeCe thought, but her smile fell when she wondered if she deserved someone as amazing as the brunette.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked, gently squeezing CeCe's hand.

"You should hate me," CeCe told her, barely able to meet Emily's gaze. "I lied to you, Emily. I _betrayed_ you. You can't still trust me after everything I've done."

Emily knew that CeCe was right, at least partially. CeCe had lied to her and CeCe had betrayed her. Yet, Emily couldn't seem to find it in herself to hate the beautiful blonde or even blame her for what she'd done. Emily had seen CeCe's face when she'd stumbled upon the blonde crying over the body of her mother. Emily had seen the tears and heard the way her lifeless voice cracked when she spoke of it. CeCe was just another pawn in A's sick, twisted game.

"I killed him," Emily whispered, not sure exactly why she'd chosen to bring up the dreadful moment from her past. "Nate.. Or Lyndon, whatever his name was. I killed."

"That was self-defense, Emily," CeCe argued. "That's different, he would have killed you."

"It doesn't change anything," Emily shrugged. "He had a life. He had parents and people who loved him and I just.. Took it away," Emily hadn't spoken of Lyndon much since it happened, but if felt good to confide in CeCe, someone she knew would understand how she felt.

"Good people do bad things, CeCe," Emily said, her thumb brushing over her girlfriend's hand. "It doesn't make them bad people. It doesn't make you a bad person."

CeCe nodded, but still looked unsure. Emily couldn't help but wonder if she was the first to tell CeCe that she was anything but a bad person. Emily's heart broke at the thought. How could anyone put this poor girl through everything just for being who she was?

"I don't think you're a bad person either," CeCe murmured, resting her head on Emily's shoulder as she entwined their fingers. "In fact, I think you're the _best_ person."

Emily chuckled, gently running a hand through wavy blonde hair. "Let's go get some coffee," she said, despite her reluctance to move from the comfortable position they were sat in. "I think we could both use it."

* * *

"Guys, are we sure we can trust CeCe?" Aria's voice was low, as if she worried that passerby's with curious minds might overhear.

She was sat with Spencer and Hanna in The Brew, sipping coffee she'd neglected over the hour, which was cold now and hardly enjoyable. Spencer didn't look up from her laptop on which she was typing furiously, except to sip her own cup of coffee, her second or third so far. Hanna just shrugged, clearly tired of all the deliberating they'd been doing. Truth be told, Aria was tired of it all as well, but there was no way they were going to let Emily take the fall for something she hadn't done, even if their only source of information was shady and someone they'd thought was A until earlier.

"I don't trust her a far as I can throw her," Hanna muttered, checking her phone yet again for texts that hadn't arrived.

"Emily sure does," Spencer spoke without expression; the brunette had been in a bad mood since the conversation at Emily's house. Aria wasn't surprised, though. If she'd learned that Mike was a murderer, she probably wouldn't be in the greatest mood either.

"Emily trusted Nate, too, and look where that got her," Hanna said. Spencer cocked an eyebrow at that, but didn't cease typing.

"CeCe isn't Nate," they all turned at the sound of a fourth voice, seeing Emily standing with her arms crossed, having approached them without being noticed by the girls deep in conversation. CeCe was with her, a few paces behind visibly trying to cover up nervousness by standing tall with a slight head-tilt, doing that familiar Alison impression.

"Emily…" Aria's voice trailed off as quickly as it began, realizing she wasn't sure what to say. Emily sat down, with CeCe beside her and looked as if she were about to respond, but it was the blonde that spoke first.

"I don't want to hurt Emily," CeCe said softly. Aria noticed how different CeCe was now from how she was when they'd first met her. She was much less guarded, especially with Emily around.

None of them offered a response, and so they all sat in tense silence until Spencer closed her laptop with a huff of defeat, placing it on the table in front of her and taking another sip of her coffee.

"She'll come back, Spencer," CeCe said quietly. "She really does care about you."

Spencer didn't look like she believed it, but nodded at CeCe anyways. "Let's just focus on protecting Emily," she suggested, and the others nodded.

"I was the only one out last night, besides CeCe," Emily said. "It won't exactly be a challenge for A to pin this on me."

"You were there with CeCe, too," Aria reminded her. "A can't pin it on you without making CeCe seem guilty."

CeCe shifted uncomfortably beside Emily. "I'm disposable," she said. "A doesn't care if I take the fall for this."

Emily rested her hand on CeCe's thigh, offering a small, comforting smile.

"We just need to make it seem like someone else killed Mrs. D," Hanna said, as if it were simple.

"Jason was there last night," Spencer suggested passively.

"No," CeCe said firmly, narrowing her eyes at the brunette. "He's my brother. We're not involving him."

"He's my brother, too," Spencer pointed out, but didn't seem entirely thrilled with her own idea.

"You knew her best," Aria said, addressing CeCe. "Who would have the motive to kill her?"

CeCe shrugged, considering this. "Peter Hastings," she said, and Spencer flinched.

"He's my dad, I'm not just going to throw him under the bus," she said coolly, her expression grim.

"Then we'd better find someone else," Hanna said. "And fast."

* * *

CeCe sat back on Emily's bed, a rather monotonous book in hand as she waited for her girlfriend to finish showering. She reflected for a bit on the conversation she'd had with the girls at The Brew, and felt a bit sorry for Spencer, whose entire family seemed to be tangled up in this ordeal. There was no way that CeCe was going to frame Jason for the murder, she couldn't do that after everything she'd already done to him. She'd never quite stopped feeling guilty for pretending to date him, she knew that it had hurt him but she'd just needed to see her family again. That wasn't so bad, was it?

She groaned, putting the book back where she'd found it after finding it far too dull to continue. She thought about Peter Hastings. It'd just be so easy to make it seem like he'd done it. It'd be a simple matter of making it seem like he needed CeCe's mother dead because of the affair, which wouldn't be so hard for the police to believe, especially in a town like Rosewood. CeCe knew framing Peter would hurt Spencer, and she didn't want that at all, but she wanted to protect Emily. She needed to. There was no way she was going to let her beautiful, innocent girlfriend be the victim of CeCe's mistakes. It was too bad that Peter Hastings would get caught in the crossfire of this horrific A game, but but CeCe Drake would do anything to protect the love of her life.

"Hey," CeCe turned to see Emily adorned in a bathrobe, her damp hair was messy and tangled from the shower and yet CeCe still found herself in awe of her girlfriend's beauty.

"Hey," CeCe smiled, approaching Emily to peck her briefly on the lips before Emily retrieved her much-needed hairbrush.

"Let's go out tonight," Emily suggested suddenly. "My treat."

"It's been a while since we've gone out. What's the occasion?"

"No occasion," Emily shrugged, turning to grin at her girlfriend as she ran the brush through matted brown hair. "I just need a break from all of this. If I'm going to get arrested, I want to enjoy my time as a free woman first," she'd said it jokingly, but regretted her words when CeCe gazed back at her sorrowfully.

"You won't get arrested," CeCe stated firmly. "I'm not going to let that happen to you, Em," she tugged her girlfriend gently towards her before pressing her lips passionately against Emily's, who returned the kiss eagerly. CeCe needed to show Emily that she'd make good on her promise, because she'd never meant anything more.

When CeCe finally pulled back, they remained within a few inches of each other's lips, each smiling lovingly at the other.

"So," Emily murmured. "Dinner and a movie?"

"How traditional," CeCe chuckled fondly. With a smirk, she winked playfully at Emily. "Pick me up at five?


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: To those who have asked, no, this isn't a g!p fic. I really appreciate all of the reviews so far, thank you all for being so lovely!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

"Emily?" CeCe looked surprised as she opened the door to her apartment, finding her girlfriend adorned in rather semi-formal attire. Nothing too extravagant, but still a bit much for a simple dinner and movie outing.

"I know, I'm early," Emily said, and CeCe moved out of the doorway to let the younger girl inside. "Would you mind if we changed our plans a bit?"

"Why, no good movies?" CeCe asked, sitting back on the couch to turn off the movie she'd previously been watching.

"No, it's just that.. my mom's back in town," Emily said slowly and CeCe seemed to pick up on what she was asking.

"You want me to meet your mom?" CeCe asked, unable to hide a frown.

"You don't want to?" Emily asked, and CeCe felt bad when she saw the hurt in her girlfriend's eyes.

"It's not that I don't want to, Em," she clarified quickly, and Emily looked at her confusedly. "It's just… I don't always make the best impression with parents. I wasn't exactly the girl you took home in college."

"CeCe," Emily reached out to squeeze the blonde's hand in her own. "I love you, and my mom will too."

"But what if she doesn't?" CeCe asked nervously.

"She will," Emily said firmly. "But, if you're not ready-"

"I am," CeCe cut in, masking her uncertainty with a smile. "I want to meet her, Em."

Emily smiled and CeCe leaned in to peck her briefly on the mouth. Emily deepened the kiss happily before CeCe pulled away, and the blonde grinned at the quiet moan she elicited from her girlfriend when she nibbled on her bottom lip. CeCe finally pulled back, both of them knowing that they didn't have time to go much further.

"What should I wear?" CeCe asked.

"Anything," Emily replied, smiling amusedly. "Except that,"

CeCe glanced down at her own baggy clothing, and rolled her eyes at her girlfriend who was studying the less-than-formal attire, dissatisfied. "It's comfortable," CeCe argued, but went to change.

CeCe pulled her grey hoodie over her head, smirking as she felt her girlfriend's eyes wandering over her bare back. Emily had certainly never been subtle, but CeCe hadn't expected to feel the younger girl's arms wrap around her from behind as she reached for a flowery pink top. Emily nuzzled into the blonde's neck and CeCe put a hand on Emily's, smiling as she turned around in the younger girl's arms, dropping the top back onto the bed.

"We don't have time for this," CeCe murmured softly as she watched Emily's gaze flicker between her eyes and her lips. "Being late isn't exactly the first impression that I want to make."

"You're still worried?" Emily inquired, pulling the irresistible blonde closer.

"She's your mother, Em. I just… I just really want her to like me," CeCe's eyes betrayed her anxiety, and Emily leaned forward to peck her on the lips. CeCe rested her hands on Emily's waist, entranced by the brunette's deep, honest brown eyes.

"Well, if she doesn't, I'll just have to like you enough for the both of us," Emily said playfully, her hands wandering over the soft skin of CeCe's back.

"You know, it's kind of hard to get ready with you distracting me like this," CeCe said, failing to suppress a grin as Emily's hands played with the clasp of the blonde's bra.

"Am I distracting?" Emily asked with mock innocence.

"Very," CeCe said with a smirk, and couldn't resist moving in to press her lips against Emily's, feeling the brunette smile into the kiss when CeCe's tongue brushed over the younger girl's bottom lip before maneuvering into her mouth. Met by Emily's tongue, CeCe continued to dominate the kiss, not that Emily could say she minded. Emily reached for the clasp of CeCe's bra again, this time skillfully undoing it before CeCe pulled out of the kiss, which Emily protested with a low moan as their lips broke apart.

"We have to be at your mom's place in half an hour, Em?" CeCe said reluctantly, unable to tear her eyes away from the slightly swollen lips that she so badly wanted to return to.

"That's more than enough time," Emily said, wondering if she sounded as desperate if she felt for the blonde.

"Is that a challenge?" CeCe cocked an eyebrow playfully, tilting her head in that adorable way, the way she knew Emily found so irresistible.

Emily responded wordlessly, pressing her lips passionately against CeCe's and entangling her hands in older girl's soft, golden locks. CeCe pressed her hips into Emily's, and knew there was little chance the two would be on time for their dinner.

* * *

"You must be CeCe," Emily's mother's eyes were warm and welcoming, and her tone of voice kind. Along with Emily's hand comfortingly holding her own, CeCe should have felt comfortable meeting the kind woman. So why did she feel like jumping out of her skin?

"So nice to meet you, Mrs. Fields," CeCe managed to say after a hesitation that wasn't too noticeable. She congratulated herself mentally for managing to keep her voice steady, and wondered how she'd manage to do that for the rest of the night. Emily looked at her reassuringly, and CeCe smiled back at her despite the anxiety she felt chewing at her mind.

Emily's mother, who kindly told CeCe to call her Pam politely invited the girls inside and out of the chilly Autumn weather. CeCe glanced around Emily's house, taking in the familiar environment and wondered if Pam knew that CeCe had been here before, and how many times. She was startled from her thoughts when she entered the dining room alongside Emily and came upon a man she didn't recognize sitting at the beautifully set table.

"Dad!" Emily exclaimed upon recognizing him, and broke her hold on CeCe's hand to hug the tall man. CeCe didn't move, feeling awkward but unable to resist a smile at seeing her girlfriend's happy reunion with her father.

"I didn't know you were home," she said, still visibly excited as she pulled out of the hug.

"Well, I wanted to surprise you," he said warmly, before turning his gaze to CeCe, who still hadn't moved.

"You're CeCe, right?" he said, just as kindly as Pam had, and yet CeCe couldn't seem to untie the knot in her stomach.

She nodded, smiling as he reached out to shake her hand. CeCe shook it firmly, and her glanced briefly at Emily, who was still overjoyed.

"Wayne Fields," he introduced himself.

CeCe nodded, letting her hand fall back to her side. "It's great to finally meet you," she said.

"And you. Emily speaks very highly of you, CeCe."

"She does?" CeCe looked surprised, and turned to see Pam entering the room with dishes in hand.

"All the time," Pam said, smiling at Emily who blushed slightly with embarrassment.

Emily pulled out a chair beside her own at the table for CeCe, who smiled at her courteous younger girlfriend. She sat, as did Emily and her father directly across from her, looking down at the empty plate in front of her, decorated with a napkin, spoon, fork, and knife. She suddenly found herself minding her manners, sitting stiffly up straight and holding a slight, polite smile. She knew that Emily's family was, while kind, a bit uptight with this sort of thing, and CeCe was determined not to disappoint. She felt Emily's foot brush against her own under the table and glanced up at her girlfriend at the sudden contact. The brunette wasn't looking back at her, but CeCe noticed the faint beginnings of a smirk playing at the corners of her mouth. Turning her gaze away from her girlfriend, who looked exceptionally beautiful even if CeCe had definitely messed up her dark hair before they came, she saw Mr. Fields studying her. His eyes weren't unkind, mostly curious.

"So, CeCe," he said after a bit, clearing his throat. "Where are you working?"

CeCe smiled. "I actually opened up a salon here in Rosewood a few weeks ago," she told him, eyes alight with the pride she always had about her salon. Since its opening night, the one in which she'd gotten to do Emily's hair, the salon had had business far better than CeCe had ever expected, especially in a tiny town like this one.

Wayne nodded, his expression was tough for CeCe to read but he seemed satisfied with the answer. Emily had warned her on the drive that she might get a bit of grilling from her mother, which CeCe had expected, but she'd met parents before and the harsher questioning had always come from the father. It wasn't that she didn't want to meet Emily's father, but she just wasn't sure she'd earn his acceptance, much less, she knew, if he heard her full story. Not yet, she decided. Definitely not yet.

Before anything else was able to be said, Mrs. Fields entered the dining room with the announcement that dinner was ready. Setting the table with more food than CeCe had ever been offered, Mrs. Fields finally sat down beside her husband. CeCe was thankful when Emily asked her father about the time he had recently spent in Texas, allowing the topic of conversation to be off of CeCe as she dug into the deliciously prepared roast in front of her. Ensuring that she praised Pam for the meal only earned her more questions, however, from Emily's inquisitive parents.

"Will you be staying in Rosewood?" Pam asked casually, glancing briefly up at CeCe who was caught off-guard by the question. "Emily tells us you travel a lot."

 _J'adore prendre l'avion._ CeCe flashed back briefly to her time in Paris under the name Vivian Darkbloom, the identity she'd stolen from her late best friend. She'd thought that she could get away from A by just running away to Paris, back when she was still new to the game and unaware of the reach the monster who had been plaguing this town had.

"I won't be leaving anytime soon," CeCe affirmed, and it was true. Though she'd never felt much for Rosewood in the past, she now had one very good reason to stay.

"What about when Emily leaves for college?" Wayne cut in. Here it was, CeCe realized. Emily's parents were ready to start the real questioning. At least they were less hostile than the parents she'd met in the past. But then, CeCe had never met the parents of anyone that she _really_ cared about. Before now, the pressure to impress the parents had never been so nerve-wracking. CeCe realized that she'd hesitated too long when Wayne continued. "Do you plan on accompanying Emily?"

CeCe wasn't sure how to respond because, honestly, she'd never really thought of that. She loved Emily, she knew, and she couldn't just watch the brunette leave for college without her, but, she also couldn't just abandon her business. Not when it was doing so well, after all of the work she'd put into it. CeCe berated herself for not having put any thought into her future, and then found herself wondering what Emily pictured for her future, and if CeCe was a part of that. The blonde didn't want a future without Emily, that much she knew, but perhaps with all that was going on and the anonymous assailant that had been stalking them all for years, she'd never been sure that she would have a future. That was the prize of winning the A game. A future. A life. Anything-but-death.

"CeCe and I are waiting until I figure out where I'll be going to college before we start planning," Emily answered tentatively, casting a glance at her anxious girlfriend, whose mind was racing with thoughts, hopes, and fears of the future.

Wayne nodded, his expression unreadable. CeCe resumed eating, looking up at Emily when she felt the brunette's foot brush against her's again. Emily cast her a small smile, which CeCe returned. They both knew that there was a lot of talking to be had after this dinner.

* * *

"They hated me," CeCe said as they entered her apartment, tossing her purse on to the couch before plopping tiredly down beside it.

"They did not," Emily argued softly, sitting down beside the blonde, who immediately leaned into her.

"I was a nervous wreck the whole time, Em," CeCe gazed up at her girlfriend, who ran a gentle hand through her wavy blonde hair, moving a lock of it away from CeCe's worried eyes.

"You know what my mom said to me right before we left?" Emily asked.

CeCe looked at her curiously, shaking her head slightly as she allowed her nerves to be calmed by her girlfriend's warm tone and tender eyes.

"She said she was glad I found someone who loves me so much," Emily said with a smile, and CeCe couldn't help but smile back, because she did love Emily. So, so much, and she couldn't be happier that her parents had seen that.

"She did?" CeCe's breathed, grinning as Emily leaned forwards to plant a kiss on CeCe's cherry-tasting lips.

"Mm," Emily affirmed, reluctant to pull away, though it was CeCe who broke the kiss first.

"Em, maybe we do need to start talking about the… future," CeCe said, her eyes widening as she processed her own words. "Unless you don't want me to be a part of that," she added quickly. "Then I guess we don't have to talk at all which is totally fine, it's up to you after all-"

"CeCe," Emily cut off CeCe's rambling gently. "I don't want to imagine my future without you in it," she said, allowing herself to become entranced by the pools of blue that were her girlfriend's eyes.

"I don't want to, either," she said with a gentle smile, taking Emily's hand in her own and brushing her thumb over her girlfriend's.

"I could always just go to Hollis," Emily shrugged. "Then we wouldn't have to leave Rosewood."

Emily's expression was neutral as she made the suggestion, but CeCe could tell that her girlfriend wasn't entirely impressed by her own suggestion. "No, Em," CeCe said firmly. "When all this is over, I think you should just put this town behind you."

"What about you? You deserve a life outside of this too, CeCe. A home where you're not scared all the time"

"I'm not scared when I'm with you," CeCe said shyly, gazing up at her taller girlfriend.

Emily didn't say anything, just pulled the smaller girl into her, hugging her tightly as she felt the blonde's arms wrap around her waist, burying her face in long, dark hair. Emily rested her head on top of CeCe's as she held her, and was a bit annoyed when her phone vibrating in her pocket forced her to pull away. Opening the text, she saw that it was from Spencer.

 **Police are looking for you. You need to get to my house now.**


	11. Chapter 11

A siren sounded in the distance as Emily pushed Spencer's door open, CeCe beside her as they entered. Aria, Hanna, Spencer, and Caleb were inside, each of them sat surrounding the coffee table, with the exception of Spencer, who was in the kitchen speaking into her phone with a furrowed brow.

"Emily!" Aria exclaimed, the first to notice their arrival. The shorter brunette got off of the couch to pull Emily into a hug, relieved to see the taller girl. She smiled at CeCe as well, who returned the unspoken greeting politely.

"Toby can't stall the police any longer," Spencer said, approaching the rest of them as she shoved her cell phone into her back pocket. Toby, a loyal friend to Emily, had been doing his best to keep her off of the police's radar. Clearly, though, someone was hell-bent on having her arrested.

"There's no evidence, though. Right?" CeCe squeezed Emily's hand as she spoke tentatively, wanting to provide reassurance to her girlfriend amongst the storm of panic that was this room.

"They found some DNA on Mrs. D," Caleb said slowly, though he didn't look up from his laptop screen on which he was typing furiously. "It matched yours, Emily."

"A witness also reported seeing you there that night," Aria added, frowning as she shot a quick glance in Spencer's direction.

"Who was the witness?" CeCe asked, though she figured she already knew the answer.

"My sister," Spencer's voice was low, and for a moment none of them knew what to say. It didn't shock any of them, really. Especially not CeCe who had been having to work with the arrogant woman for months.

The sound of a police siren rang out again, and Emily couldn't help but notice that it sounded much closer now than it had before.

"So all of this evidence… It's enough to arrest me?" Emily wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to hear the answer.

"Apparently," Hanna said, annoyance evident in her tone. They all knew of Hanna's particular history with the Rosewood P.D., and none could blame her for the distaste she had for the amateur-esque assembly of those who were supposed to be upholding the law, and yet tended to be shadier than most of the criminals that they arrested.

"Then, what do we do?" CeCe's voice was quiet and uncertain, but she needed to vocalize the question.

"The cops are already on their way to your house, Em," Spencer said. "You can't go back there tonight. There's no way we're letting you be arrested for this mess."

"Then it's only a matter of time before they come here, too," Aria pointed out. She was right, Emily knew. Her close friendship with the other girls was hardly a secret to the police, so there was no doubt that they'd show up at her friend's houses as soon as they realized she wasn't at home.

"Em, we're working on clearing your name, but it'll take awhile and you can't be here when the cops show up," Hanna said, her eyes sympathetic.

"Well, there aren't very many places in Rosewood to hide from the police," Spencer said matter-of-factly.

Emily turned to CeCe when she felt the blonde gently squeeze her hand again. Her girlfriend was looking up at her with a conflicted gaze, and her voice was quiet as she spoke.

"I know somewhere we can go, but I don't think you'll like it."

* * *

From behind, Emily would never have guessed that the shorter woman with the long, wavy dark hair adorned in a stylishly floppy hat and animal-print fur coat was the sweet, sassy CeCe Drake. Emily found herself having to meet her girlfriend's gentle blue gaze through large sunglasses multiple times to reassure herself that it really was her. This disguise certainly wasn't sub-par, and Emily found herself wondering if CeCe had ever made her way around Rosewood in that attire, and if Emily had even seen her without recognizing the beautiful girl beneath the heavy fur.

"Vivian Darkbloom," she heard CeCe.. Err, Vivian, tell the man behind the desk, who scanned through a rather short list of names that sat in front of him.

It wasn't Emily's first time at the Lost Woods Resort, though she hadn't hoped to come back for a second visit. She wasn't sure how this old, one-star-at-best motel had remained open through the years; business here wasn't exactly booming.

"Ah, Miss Darkbloom. Room one?" The man asked.

Emily studied the young man behind the counter. He certainly wasn't the innkeeper Emily and her friends had met when they'd last stayed here, he was probably only in his mid-twenties, hardly capable of being older than CeCe. He was undeniably handsome, with sleek, black hair and calculating grey eyes, Emily figured he was essentially the definition of 'tall, dark, and handsome'. Normally, that wouldn't interest her in the slightest. However, she did notice the way his gaze occasionally drifted from CeCe's eyes to her chest, and even lower than that. Emily, though she trusted her girlfriend of course, did find herself once or twice wondering if CeCe had noticed exactly how tall, dark, and handsome the new innkeeper was.

"Room one indeed," she said with a smirk, which the innkeeper whose nametag read 'Colin' returned.

He turned around to receive a keychain with a single key and the number one attached to it off of the wall behind him. Handing the key to CeCe, Emily wondered if she was being a bit too jealous when she narrowed her eyes at the man's thumb brushing only momentarily over her girlfriend's.

"Would you like me to show you to your room?" He asked, and Emily wasn't able to decipher exactly what his tone of voice was.

She cast a brief glance at CeCe, who tilted her head in that way she often did when she was being flirty with Emily. CeCe almost looked like she was about to accept, when Emily cut in.

"We can find it ourselves, thanks," she said dryly, and Colin looked at her as if just noticing she was there. CeCe shot her a surprised glance, and Emily felt a bit bad for giving into unnecessary jealousy.

The man didn't say anything further, simply relenting with a nod as Emily turned to leave. She heard the clicking of CeCe's heals as her girlfriend followed her, but didn't turn to look at her girlfriend until they'd left the office behind and were now walking down a dirt path to the motel itself.

"Okay, what was that?" CeCe asked as they walked, breaking the silence as she took off her sunglasses which proved unnecessary in the quickly darkening evening. Emily met her girlfriend's gaze, which was softer than her tone.

"What was what?" Emily asked, hardly convincing CeCe of genuine naivety.

"You seemed a bit…" CeCe paused, seeming to search for the right word. "Off, in there with that innkeeper. He was just being nice," she pointed out.

"Maybe a bit too nice," Emily muttered, hardly loud enough for CeCe to hear.

Emily saw realization flicker in CeCe's gaze, which looked almost silver in the dim light. Her girlfriend suddenly looked smug, grinning at Emily as they finally reached the door to their room.

"Is _that_ what this is about, Em?" CeCe asked, nudging Emily with her elbow before unlocking the door.

The door creaked menacingly as she pushed it open, throwing her purse onto the queen sized bed which she'd be willing to bet was ridden with bed-bugs. CeCe hardly cared, though. She was tired and didn't hesitate to plop down on the slightly ragged sheets, removing the itchy brunette wig.

"I didn't like the way he looked at you," Emily admitted quietly, turning to lock the door behind her before setting her own purse onto a nearby chair.

CeCe tilted her head and smiled up at Emily, gesturing for the brunette to sit beside her, not bothering to fix her hair which had become tousled and messy from the wearing of the Vivian wig. Emily complied, and couldn't suppress a small smile of her own when CeCe wrapped her arms around her.

"I thought he was flirting with you, and I got kind of…" Emily's voice trailed off as she felt CeCe reach for her hand, not dropping her warm gaze.

"Jealous?" the blonde supplied smugly, and Emily answered with a reluctant nod.

They heard rain begin to patter gently onto the roof above, and Emily remembered the predictions for a storm tonight. She didn't dwell on thoughts of the weather, though, when she felt CeCe lean in to kiss her gently on the cheek.

"I'm not going to run off with every flirty innkeeper I meet," CeCe's tone was playful, but her eyes were soft as she searched Emily's warm brown gaze.

Emily smiled as CeCe reached up to cup Emily's cheek in her hand, the brunette leaning her head into her girlfriend's warm touch. "You know I love you, right?" CeCe asked.

Emily nodded into CeCe's hand, feeling her thumb rub gently over her cheek as she lost herself in her girlfriend's entrancing gaze. "I love you too," she breathed.

CeCe leaned forward, pulling Emily into a kiss. Emily happily responded, and though CeCe had initiated it, it was Emily that quickly took control. The kiss that started slow and soft quickly became heated as Emily placed her hands on CeCe's waist, pushing the blonde gently until she laid flat on the bed with the brunette's weight resting on top of her. Emily allowed her hands to get lost in CeCe's messy, golden hair while CeCe had her arms wrapped tightly around Emily, pulling her closer into her. CeCe felt Emily's tongue swipe at her bottom lip, and smiled into the kiss at her girlfriend's impatience. She granted the brunette entry, and Emily wasted no time in exploring CeCe's mouth. CeCe pushed her tongue back against Emily's, moaning into the kiss.

"God, I love you," CeCe's voice was breathy as they pulled apart, the need for air growing too strong.

Emily peppered kisses down CeCe's neck, nipping gently at her pulse point and eliciting another low moan from CeCe.

"I love you too," Emily told her, positioning herself so that her lips hovered teasingly over CeCe's. "Now, let me show you how much."

* * *

The motel felt far less creepy with CeCe cuddled tightly into her, Emily decided. All of the shadows and menacing tree branches in the world couldn't scare Emily when she had the smaller girl's head nuzzled into her neck and arm draped over her stomach. Emily traced her fingers gently over CeCe's bare back, figuring that, by now, the blonde girl had fallen asleep. And, after _that_ performance, Emily figured the smaller girl deserved all of the rest she could get.

Emily let out a quiet sigh as she played with a loose strand of CeCe's hair, wishing she could enjoy the night as much as she wanted to. The past hour or so had been nearly perfect, and Emily had almost entirely forgotten that she was, essentially, a wanted criminal. But, now that she was lying in silence, staring up at the dark ceiling with no soundtrack but the harsh downpour of rain outside, she was forced to think about the possibility of her pending arrest. The cops were probably scouring Rosewood for her, and Emily couldn't quite shake the fear that, somehow, they'd know she was here.

Emily forced her eyes shut, knowing she needed to get some sleep. She'd figure things out tomorrow.. Hopefully. She turned slightly, placing a gentle kiss on CeCe's head before attempting sleep. If she was half as worn-out as her girlfriend, Emily figured sleep would come eventually.

Only a few sleepless minutes passed, however, before one of the loudest claps of thunder Emily had ever heard sounded outside. She felt CeCe's small figure tense up against her, her arm tightening against Emily's waist. When a flash of lightning illuminated the room through translucent curtains, CeCe nuzzled further into Emily's neck.

"Ce?" Emily whispered, uncertain as to whether her girlfriend was awake, or the storm was stressing her out in her sleep.

CeCe lifted her head to look at Emily, and didn't appear to have been sleeping at all. The blonde girl looked a bit agitated, she noticed.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked, concern evident in dark, tired eyes. "Is it the storm?"

"I'm not a child, Emily. I'm not scared of thunderstorms," CeCe said defensively, though she flinched at an even louder clap of thunder.

Emily cocked an eyebrow at her girlfriend, who tried her best to look annoyed. "It's just loud," she muttered.

"CeCe, it's okay," Emily said, willing the blonde girl to know that she could be vulnerable around Emily, and that she didn't need to put up her walls.

CeCe relented with a breath, not meeting Emily's sweet gaze. "Back in Radley, I was always alone during thunderstorms. It was just really… Scary," CeCe looked embarrassed as she spoke.

Emily's heart broke. She knew that CeCe had been alone in Radley, and that the blonde girl had received few visitors. However, sometimes Emily didn't entirely comprehend the degree of loneliness that CeCe must have felt all her life. When Emily was younger and terrified of loud storms and the dark, her mother would always be there to comfort her. Emily grew emotional realizing that CeCe had never felt that sort of comforting love. No wonder the storms scared the smaller girl so much; she would just associate it with the loneliness she'd been forced to feel all her life.

Emily reached over to wrap her arms around CeCe, gently pulling her girlfriend into her as she acted as a cocoon for the nervous blonde. CeCe pressed her body into Emily's, grounding herself with the presence of the brunette.

"You're not alone anymore, CeCe. I'm here," Emily murmured as she gently ran her fingers through CeCe's hair. "I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."


	12. Chapter 12

Waking up with CeCe snuggled tightly into her side was usually a pleasant experience for Emily. However, the flashing red and blue lights outside of the motel window that had disturbed Emily's peaceful slumber made this morning far less enjoyable.

She maneuvered herself away from CeCe slowly, not wanting to disturb the quietly sleeping blonde. However, she soon realized just how light of a sleeper her girlfriend was when CeCe let out a low groan, her eyes fluttering open.

"Em?" her voice was raspy with sleep as she adjusted to the unfamiliar surroundings. She furrowed her brow slightly, noticing the anxious expression on the brunette's face.

"They're here," Emily said, trying to keep her voice relatively steady as she moved to the window. Pulling the curtain aside, she saw a police car sitting not too far away. One cop, a short, stocky blonde man that she didn't recognize, was talking on the phone with what appeared to be an annoyed expression. She figured that his partner was inside the office of which they were parked outside, speaking with Colin. CeCe had made a rather good impression on the innkeeper the previous night, Emily remembered, but she didn't quite think it was enough to convince Colin to lie for them.

"What?" CeCe looked surprised as she sat up, reaching for a bathrobe before she got up off of the bed as well to join Emily. "How did they find us?"

Emily turned to face her after making sure that the curtains completely concealed them from the outside and the peering eyes of cops. "I don't know.. The only people who know we're here are Hanna, Aria, Spencer, and Caleb, right?"

CeCe nodded, pondering this for a moment. "We have to go," she said urgently.

"We can't run forever, CeCe," Emily said.

"Not forever," CeCe corrected her gently. "Just until your friends clear your name."

"But what if they can't?" Emily looked at her, worry clouding her dark eyes. "Every time we've gone up against A we've lost. What makes this time any different?"

CeCe stepped forward, gently resting her hands on Emily's hips and looked up to meet her girlfriend's gaze. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Emily, and neither are your friends. They'll figure something out, but for right now, we have to go,"

Emily looked hesitant, but nodded, and CeCe leaned in to peck her briefly on the lips before pulling away. She threw on some half-decent clothes, a baggy blue hoodie and sweatpants that she wouldn't dream of ever wearing in public, while Emily, who only now realized that she hadn't changed clothes to sleep, simply kept on her attire from the previous day due to dwindling time.

Emily moved to the front door, but was stopped by CeCe.

"We have to go through the bathroom window," she said. "If we go out through the front, the cops will see us." Emily just nodded, and followed CeCe.

Climbing out of the cobweb-filled window was certainly not an easy task, CeCe learned as she fell ungracefully to the ground before getting up to help Emily out. They were faced with a stretch of forest, and though neither of them knew where it went or how deep it was, they figured it was a better bet than trying to sneak past the cops to get to CeCe's car. They ran at first, wanting to be as far away from the police-infested motel as possible, but CeCe wasn't quite as in shape as years of swimming had made Emily, and when she tired, they slowed to a brisk walk.

"Maybe we should call your friends," CeCe suggested after they had wandered the forest for a bit.

Emily shook her head. "Caleb said not to. The police might track the call."

They walked mostly in silence, save for the muttered curses CeCe emitted when she nearly tripped over a fallen branch. Emily guided them with the sun, which peaked out from between the trees just barely above the horizon. Both girls, tired of the seemingly endless forested scenery, were grateful to hear what sounded like the humming of a driving car not too far off.

They followed the noise at a slightly quicker pace, eventually nearing the edge of a winding road. Whatever car they'd heard was long gone at this point, and the road was now barren in both directions for as far as either of them could see.

"Now what?" CeCe wondered aloud, kicking at a rock as they stood on the side of the dirt road.

"We follow the road," Emily shrugged.

"Yeah, but which way leads back to Rosewood?"

Emily considered this for a moment, admittedly unsure but eventually choosing to move towards the slowly rising sun. CeCe linked her fingers with Emily's, giving a gentle reassuring squeeze as they walked along the unfamiliar road. The blonde might almost have found the walk, with birds singing loudly of the morning and the solitude of the forest romantic, if it weren't for the fact that they were currently evading the police.

The walk was mostly quiet, with each woman's mind full of clashing thoughts. Emily, though she knew her friends would be working as hard as they could to clear her name, couldn't help but wonder what would happen if they failed. A always had their way, right? But, how would having her in prison benefit A? After all, if this game was all about torturing her and her friends, the enjoyment would be lost if Emily was secluded in a cell.

"Em, there's a payphone!" CeCe pointed, and Emily saw the odd, out-of-place phone just ahead of them. CeCe, legs exhausted from the unusual amount of walking, couldn't have been happier.

Fishing in her pocket for some change, she smiled as she retrieved a pair of quarters from her pocket and slipped them into the machine.

"What's Aria's number?" she called to Em, who stood on the side of the road a few paces from the payphone, optimistically awaiting the passing of a car.

Emily recited the string of numbers to CeCe, who pressed the slightly sticky buttons of the phone before holding it up to her ear, silently praying that Aria would answer considering she didn't have enough money for a second call.

"Hello?" came Aria's voice after two long rings.

"Aria! It's CeCe."

"CeCe?" concern was evident in the other girl's tone. "Is everything alright?"

"Not really," she admitted. "The cops found us at the resort, so we had to run. We're going to need you guys to pick us up,"

A scream pierced the air, which had gone silent without even the sound of the bird's who had been singing with such liveliness not long ago. CeCe spun, dropping the phone before she could even here Aria ask what happened. Leaving the phone to dangle by its phone, she rushed out of the tight phone booth to witness Emily being shoved forcefully into a car that she hadn't even heard pull up. She was putting up a fight, but her assailant, dressed in that familiar black hoodie, was taller and stronger than her so the brunette found herself quickly overpowered.

"Emily!" she called out, seeing her girlfriend, whose hands were now tied together by the hooded attacker, gaze helplessly back at her as CeCe raced towards the car.

Panic-stricken and adrenaline-driven, CeCe ran faster than she ever had before, but it proved to still be too slow when Emily's kidnapper made their way into the front seat of the car and drove off so quickly that a small cloud of dust was left in its wake.

"Emily!" she cried again, her voice cracking as she did.

* * *

Emily tried with futile efforts to free her hands from the zip tie that held them together as she was driven away from her girlfriend. She remembered reading a trick online, once, about breaking these sorts of cuffs, but her mind was racing so fast that she couldn't bring herself to remember it. Helpless and terrified, she turned in her seat to see her girlfriend, quickly growing smaller as they drove further away, still standing in the road.

"Who are you?" Emily tried to put up a tough exterior, but her voice faltered slightly without her permission.

She didn't receive an answer. The hooded figure didn't move in any way that signified he'd even heard her.

"What do you want from me?" she tried, growing frustrated when she still didn't receive an answer.

"Please. You have to let me go… I can't- I don't know what you want from me but.. please.." her plea was jumbled and senseless, and she gave up in any further attempts to speak. Clearly, her attacker wasn't interested in conversation.

* * *

"CeCe, you have to tell us what happened," Spencer was growing restless as she tried to decipher the morning's events.

CeCe, who had been picked up by Spencer, Aria, and Toby about an hour after Emily's kidnapping would have preferred a silent drive, but knew that the desire wasn't realistic.

"I just.. I heard her scream and I turned around and she was being shoved into that car.. They drove off before I could get to her. Before I could save her…" CeCe rambled, not caring as tears fell down her cheeks.

"Did you recognize anything about the person who took her?" Spencer was visibly trying to retain her composure, doing a far better job at it than Aria who looked almost as anxious as CeCe did.

CeCe shrugged sadly. "I think it was a guy but.. I don't know. It all happened so fast."

Spencer nodded, gripping the steering wheel tightly enough that her knuckles shone white.

"Rosewood P.D. is looking for her as we speak. We'll find her," Toby said, slowly, and CeCe wondered if he believed his own words.

She bit back a sarcastic retort about the police force this town had. Ever since Wilden, CeCe had never seen a man in uniform as someone to trust and rely on. However, she held on to the hope that maybe he was right. Maybe they would find her.

Maybe.

* * *

Emily was in the middle of nowhere. Well, she'd never really left the middle of nowhere, but at least when she was with CeCe, it hadn't been so bad. However, here with A, or whoever this was, the middle of nowhere felt a lot more lonely, and she found herself desperately missing the blonde's hand in her own.

They car stopped moving after what felt like an eternity of driving, and her kidnapper got out of the car, moving around to her side to open the door for her. He held a black cloth in hand, and Emily, knowing it would be useless, hardly bothered putting up a fight as he placed in around her eyes. Mostly because, before her vision was reduced to black, she saw the bulge in his pocket and figured it wasn't because he was happy to see her.

She was pulled roughly out of her seat, stumbling as she steadied herself, feeling a large gloved hand tightly gripping her arm. It tugged her in its general direction and they began to walk, at a pace that Emily found difficult to maintain with tied hands and no vision.

Luckily, the walk wasn't long and Emily's assailant eventually halted, before turning a doorknob and pushing open a door that emitted a high-pitched creak. She was shoved inside, falling to her knees from the push she'd received. As she was about to get up, the blindfold was removed from her eyes and the door slammed shut behind her all within a few moments. Turning around, the hooded enemy was gone and she was alone in this dark new space.

As her vision adjusted to the room, dimly lit only by a lone window which was covered in so much dirt and dust that it was translucent at best, she felt as if she were in a horror movie. Well, it was rare these days that Emily Fields _didn't_ feel like she was in a horror movie, but being kidnapped and taken to some shack in the middle of the woods was a whole new level of horror.

Emily took a few steps forward, exploring the space a bit and noticing things, looking like pictures, lining the walls. It was far too dark to see the details of the pictures, however, so Emily returned her focus to looking for an escape. When she heard footsteps that definitely weren't her own, she froze.

"Hello?" she said into the darkness, squinting as she tried to see through what looked like an open doorway.

"Hello?" she repeated, moving slowly towards the doorway.

As she neared the room, she saw that there was a figure standing next to a slightly clearer window inside. Standing in the doorway, she narrowed her eyes at what appeared to be a blonde girl, adorned in a yellow blouse.

"Emily?" the blonde's voice was fragile and all too familiar. As she turned to face Emily, she couldn't suppress a small gasp when she saw the face of someone she long thought gone.

"Alison?"


	13. Chapter 13

"Did you miss me?" They were words that undoubtedly sounded like Alison. They were arrogant, assuming words, and yet the tone was anything but Alison Dilaurentis. The blonde's voice was shaky and uncertain and tired and beaten.

Emily moved tentatively towards Alison, taking in the sight of someone who, for years, she'd believed to be dead. She still wasn't sure that Alison was alive, really. Perhaps this was all some sick, twisted nightmare. Alison moved towards her as well, until she was close enough to envelop Emily in a tight hug that the brunette would have returned if her wrists weren't bound together by harshly tight zip ties. She settled for resting her chin on the shorter blonde's head, taking in the reality of the situation that threatened to overwhelm her panicked and exhausted mind.

Alison pulled back from the embrace at last, looking up to meet Emily's gaze. Emily took in the sight of the former Queen B up close, and barely recognized the girl she'd known all that time ago. Alison, who was once all glowing skin, luscious golden locks, and mischievous blue eyes was now sunken cheeks, matted hair, and tired eyes adorned with dark circles and bags. She was visibly starved and dirtied as if she hadn't showered in weeks. The brunette found herself speechless, the vulnerable girl in front of her was almost a completely different person than the one she'd loved years in the past.

"Alison…" Emily choked out, her voice raspy as if it hadn't been used in days. She meant to say more, but any words she had got caught in her throat and she couldn't bring herself to speak.

Alison gave her a small smile, but Emily couldn't bring herself to return it. There was just so much going through her mind and it just felt like noise that she desperately wanted to quiet. Emotions tormented her mind like a hurricane as she found herself unsure what to feel, and somehow through it all she just wanted CeCe to be there to quiet it all.

"Who did this to you?" Emily's voice was barely above a whisper, as she squeezed her eyes shut briefly in a futile attempt to clear her mind.

"I don't know," her voice was just as quiet, laced with fear. "I've been here since that night."

"Well.. W-what do they want from you?" Emily's voice faltered a bit as she spoke, unable to comprehend the fact that Alison had been locked up in this dingy, haunting shack for such a length of time.

"I don't know…" she said again, her gaze focused on her feet and she shuffled nervously in place. "They never visit, except to feed me and all. There's no games or torture. It's like they just wanted me… gone," her voice cracked at the end, and she was trying to fight the tears that dampened her eyes from falling.

Emily had been certain that the hooded assailant who'd brought her here had been A. It had been the most logical assumption; they'd been wearing the hoodie as well as being the only one who could have known where she and CeCe had been. Not to mention, they'd entirely left CeCe alone, and seeing as Emily's girlfriend had formerly been a part of A's tactics, the brunette had figured that it'd made sense. Yet, the person Alison was describing didn't sound like A at all. A _loved_ games, that much was clear. They'd been playing with Emily and her friends for years now, and after having cleared all of the people who could possibly have a big enough grudge against them to put them through such psychological torture, they'd concluded that the only reason this person could have created the A Game was for their own sick enjoyment. They'd had a lot of fun in years past pitting Emily and her friends against each other and those they'd cared about, so why not do the same with Alison? If Alison was the reason for all of this, the grand prize so to speak, why not have the most fun torturing her? Why just leave her here?

* * *

"Anything?" CeCe asked hopefully as she opened the door to her apartment.

"Nothing tangible," Spencer answered as CeCe moved aside to grant her and Aria entry into the small living room of her home.

Spencer and Aria sat beside each other on CeCe's couch, the blonde choosing to sit across from them. She considered offering to make tea, but given the situation, decided against the unnecessary formality. She glanced between the two girl's, willing one of them to speak and give her any sort of update that she could use as comfort. Both younger girls were silent for the moment, however, casting uncomfortable glances between the floor, each other, and CeCe.

"We're going to look for Emily ourselves," Aria blurted, and with the glare Spencer shot her she realized that the two had been debating whether or not to tell CeCe.

CeCe's eyebrows shot up as she took in Aria's confession. The reasonable part of her mind found the idea crazy and thought that the case should just be left to the professionals. However, the emotional side of her mind, as per usual, won out.

"Count me in," she said determinedly.

Spencer opened her mouth as if to argue, but CeCe glared daggers at her and the younger girl seemed to decide against it. She was silent, returning CeCe's glare momentarily and choosing to ignore the redness in the older blonde's eyes that revealed she'd been crying prior to their arrival. Spencer's gaze almost softened a bit, and she relented with a small nod of reluctant agreement.

"We're meeting at Spencer's at 8," Aria stated, and CeCe took the information as an invitation, nodding in understanding.

"Thank you," she said quietly, genuinely grateful that they were allowing her to help them. She knew that Emily's friends didn't entirely trust her, and admittedly, after the things she'd done, CeCe didn't think she'd trust herself, either. Hopefully, they'd see that she really did love Emily.

Aria gave her a small smile and the two younger girls stood up to leave, CeCe following behind them so as to politely open the door for them. Spencer was the first out the door, Aria not far behind, and they waited until the blonde had shut the door behind them before speaking, ensuring that the older girl was out of earshot.

"That was a bad idea," Spencer's voice was low as they made their way down the narrow hallway of the apartment complex towards the elevator.

"Well, we couldn't just leave her in the dark," Aria argued, pressing the button beside the elevator as they waited, each wanting out of the building.

"We never should have let her go alone with Emily," Spencer said.

Aria glanced away from the elevator and suddenly up at Spencer, surprise evident in her expression. "You think CeCe did this?"

"It's just awfully convenient that she was the only other person around when Emily was… kidnapped," Spencer said, and when Aria remained silent, she continued. "Besides, it wouldn't be the first time CeCe betrayed her."

"That was different," Aria said just as the elevator let out a small ding to signal its arrival. Both girls stepped inside, glad to see that they wouldn't be sharing the already tight space with any other passengers.

"Was it?" Spencer asked, and Aria didn't have an answer.

* * *

"Got it!" Alison exclaimed triumphantly as the zip tie binding Emily's wrists together finally snapped after about twenty minutes of grinding it against a rusty nail luckily sticking out of the wall.

Emily let the makeshift cuffs fall to the floor, rubbing her now very sore wrists as she observed the deep red line where the tie had once been. Alison moved to sit beneath the only window in the room and Emily followed her, shifting uncomfortably as a stray piece of wood from the shack wall dug slightly into her back.

"There has to be a way out of here," Emily said quietly. Now that she was free of cuffs, she needed to come up with some way to escape. She had faith in her friends and knew that they'd be searching for her, but she was in a shack that she hadn't known existed, and at some point it appeared A had robbed her of her cell phone so they'd never manage to track her. They were on their own this time, Emily knew, and she was grateful that at least she wasn't here alone.

"I escaped, once," Alison murmured, and I looked over at her, meeting her sullen blue gaze.

Silently urging her to elaborate, she broke our gaze and cast her gaze forwards. "I just ran," she said at last. "Faster than I even knew I could, but it didn't matter. He found me, and he brought me back here."

"He?" Emily couldn't help but notice the specific pronoun.

Alison gave a small, bitter smirk. "It felt like a he, didn't it? When they kidnapped you, didn't it feel like a guy?" Emily nodded slowly, it had felt like a guy, even if she hadn't thought much about it at the time.

"So, he just brought you back here?" Emily asked. "No punishment or anything?" That didn't sound like the A who'd been harassing Emily and her friends for years. That A would never let them get away with something like that.

"He didn't feed me for a week," she shrugged, as if that were nothing. Compared to everything she must have been through in these past years, however, maybe that's exactly how it seemed to the blonde. Emily wondered if the forced fast had been recent, because Alison clearly still maintained a fragile, starved complexion.

They sat in silence for a bit, each girl lost in their own thoughts. Emily tried to keep her focus on figuring out a way to escape without A catching them, wondering how he could have found Alison so quickly after her abscond. Perhaps he was staking the place out, but there was no way he'd have time to do that while simultaneously being the lingering, unwanted presence in Emily, Aria, Spencer, and Hanna's lives. Her mind drifted to CeCe a few times, wondering whether the beautiful blonde was looking for her and what she was doing in that very moment. However, Emily did her best to keep her girlfriend from her thoughts, unsure whether she could remain strong and focused while thoughts of CeCe, distraught and worried as she had been when Emily and her kidnapper had driven away, lingered in her mind.

Alison on the other hand had a question in mind for Emily, but couldn't decide whether or not she was ready to ask it. She figured they'd be here for awhile, so there wasn't really any rush at all, but part of her just wanted to get it over with. She needed to know whether what A had shown her was true, or just some form of punishment for trying to escape.

"Em?" Alison's voice was small.

Emily turned to face the blonde, who looked up at her with sad, anxious eyes. "Yeah, Ali?" her voice was equally as quiet.

"Sometimes A would show me things that were happening back in Rosewood. He showed me pictures of when Ezra was shot, and when Hanna was hit by that car, and when you.. shot Nate," Alison rambled, and Emily listened patiently, waiting for her to get to the question.

"When he brought me back, after I tried to escape, there was a new picture…" Alison's voice trailed off, and Emily waited as the blonde cleared her mind.

"Is my mom dead, Emily?" Alison was visibly straining to keep her voice steady, but despite the bluntness of the question itself, her voice resembled that of a scared child.

Emily let out a deep breath. She had quite the story to tell.

* * *

7:30 p.m. and time couldn't pass any slower, CeCe thought as she sat anxiously on her couch. She was constantly changing positions, restless as she awaited the meeting at Spencer's house. Her mind buzzed frantically with worry and hate for the hooded assailant who'd kidnapped Emily. She couldn't shake from her mind the look of terror in her girlfriend's eyes as she'd been driven away, or the feeling of utter helplessness as she'd been forced to watch the black car speed away.

CeCe shook her head, a futile attempt to clear her mind of those thoughts. Right now, Emily didn't need the blonde to be distraught and anxious. She needed CeCe to find her, and that was exactly what she planned to do, regardless of what it took.

Her obnoxiously loud ringtone startled CeCe out of her thoughts. She'd been ignoring phone calls since she got home, Melissa Hastings in particular had been trying to get a hold of her but CeCe just figured that Spencer's arrogant older sister hadn't yet received the memo that CeCe was no longer on A's side. This time, however, it was a text. Texts from unknown numbers were all too familiar to CeCe these days, and she almost considered ignoring it, but temptation caused her to open it and as her eyes slid over the words she audibly gasped as pieces of the puzzle suddenly came together in her mind.

 **Hey Ce, want a mud pie? -A**

CeCe stayed staring at the text for what felt like hours, the words, which would seem nonsensical to anyone else hitting her with the force of a hurricane. Her mind felt completely blank, despite being torn up by childhood memories and a feeling of betrayal as she realized in an instant exactly who'd sent that text.

She finally came to her senses, dialing the first number that came to mind, Spencer's, and tapping her foot anxiously until the younger brunette picked up on the third ring.

"Spencer? Get over here. Now. I know who A is, and I know where he took Emily."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I'm very sorry about the delay in updating! Honestly, I've been facing a lot of writer's block lately and I couldn't get this chapter to flow the way I wanted it to. I really appreciate everyone's reviews/favourites/follows, and thanks so much for your patience with my horrendous updating schedule. I really hope you enjoy this chapter, and apologies for any mistakes.**

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CeCe was driving like an absolute maniac. She sped past stop signs and red lights without caring, and earned herself numerous honks and curses from angry drivers. If she'd driven like this anywhere else she'd be pulled over and given a ticket without question, but this was Rosewood, and the police in this town actually doing their job would be a sight to behold. As she made a sharp left turn past a car that clearly hadn't expected her to do so, she only grew more determined. Knuckles turning white as she gripped the steering wheel just a bit too tightly, she cast a quick glance at her rearview mirror. Through the darkness of the late evening, she could make out Hanna's car not too far behind her. Spencer was in the driver's seat, however, which wasn't entirely surprising. With enough coffee, that girl was a crazier driver than CeCe was.

CeCe knew she should have given them more information, but honestly she didn't care about the whole "A mystery" as much as they did. She needed to find Emily, to make sure that her girlfriend was unharmed by the fiend who'd taken her. Someone CeCe knew far better than she'd thought.

Another sharp right turn took them into an unpaved forest road, one that CeCe knew was risky to drive on at this time of night, and especially with the lack of moonlight to illuminate the narrow road. It clearly wasn't a popular route, as CeCe could feel her car take each bump and dip in the road harshly, often jolting her out of her seat painfully, but CeCe was undeterred. Even with the adrenaline of being about to confront A and rescue Emily, and the outright fear at driving on such a risky road, she noticed a twinge of nostalgia at the vague familiarity of the route. Though it looked a bit different now than it had when she was a child, CeCe remembered being here all those years ago like it was yesterday. It was one of the few moments with her family that she still treasured.

CeCe stopped her car abruptly, pulling over as much as she could on the narrow road and getting out of her car. She was thankful to have thought to bring a flashlight, as the loss of her car's headlights rendered her in total darkness. She saw Hanna's car pull over just behind her own, and watched as Hanna, Spencer, and Aria all emerged. She'd expected to have seen one of their boyfriends as well, particularly the cop, but it appeared that the girls had managed to sneak out.

"The cabin isn't too far down this road," CeCe told them when they approached her, each surveying the area around them with flashlights of their own.

"You still haven't told us who A is," Spencer pointed out dryly.

CeCe was about to answer her, when the sharp sound of a stick cracking underfoot sounded from the forest. The girls froze, each waving their flashlight around wildly in a futile attempt to find the culprit.

"It was probably just a rabbit," Spencer rationalized. Hanna looked as if she were about to protest, but Aria, always the voice of reason, cut in.

"Guys, if Emily is really in that cabin, let's just focus on getting her out."

In silent agreement, they began to trudge through the dimly-lit forest in search of the cabin. CeCe took the lead, feeling as if she were six years old again and taking a summer vacation with her family. She could hear, if she strained to listen, the lapping of a lake that wasn't too far from where they were walking. She remembered her and her little brother as tiny children, splashing each other with water as they played at the edge of the lake while her parents showed baby Alison the beach for the first time. Her family had never been perfect; even when CeCe was young and before she'd been shipped off to Radley her parents had often bickered. However, those summer vacations had been the one time every year that her entire family had seemed happy.

"CeCe!" Spencer's voice jolted CeCe from her thoughts. The brunette's tone made it apparent that she'd been attempting to get CeCe's attention for a while now.

"Is this it?" Spencer asked, gesturing ahead with her flashlight.

CeCe narrowed her eyes, making out the shadowy outline of a building not far from where they stood. Her heart seemed to skip a beat when she realized that it was the building housing her terrified, lone girlfriend.

"That's it," CeCe confirmed, and they continued through the forest at a noticeably quicker pace.

When they reached it, Hanna was the first to jiggle the doorknob. When it didn't open, she only continued to jiggle it harder until Spencer put a hand on the blonde's wrist, restraining her movement.

"Hanna, It's locked." Spencer said, and Hanna pulled back.

CeCe bent down, shooing Aria off of the welcome mat on which she had been standing. She peeled up a corner of it, relieved to see that even after all these years, that spare key was still there. Pushing it into the lock and hearing the satisfying click, she slowly pushed the cabin door open, hearing it creak harshly as she did so. She almost smiled at the memory she had; every year her mother complained about the creaky door and every year her father assured her that he'd fix it, but he never did.

Out of habit, she reached for the lightswitch by the door as she stepped inside. Despite the fact that her mother was dead, and thus couldn't pay the bills, and she was sure that her father wanted nothing to do with the place, the lights came on. They flickered slightly, and were very dim as a result of being very old, unreplaced light bulbs, but they did the job. CeCe hardly had time to reflect on the familiar place when suddenly someone jumped out of the next room, pointing what appeared to be a broomstick towards them as if she prepared to sweep them to death.

"Don't move!" Emily threatened, jabbing the stick in their direction before recognizing who was standing before her.

Emily immediately dropped the broomstick. "CeCe?" she whispered.

CeCe nodded, and Emily wasted no time in enveloping the blonde in the tightest hug of her life. CeCe never wanted to let go, but they pulled away so that Emily could hug each of the girls as well and assure them that she was fine and unharmed. When she returned to CeCe's side, the brunette wasted no time in planting a passionate kiss on her girlfriend's lips, which CeCe responded to hungrily. Intoxicated by her girlfriend's familiar scent and the taste of her lips, it was almost painful when they pulled apart, startled by Spencer's voice.

" _Alison?"_

CeCe froze, seeing Alison Dilaurentis, the _deceased_ Alison Dilaurentis, emerge tentatively from the same room Emily had. She hardly recognized her old best friend. Alison, who had once been all bright eyes and a mischievous smirk now held sunken features and a hollow gaze. She glanced between her friends with an unreadable expression, and the girls stared back in utter shock. Alison had been murdered almost three years ago, it was a fact, but yet here she was, standing like a deer in headlights under the stunned gazes of her friends.

"Did you miss me?" her voice was hollow, and the smirk she attempted was frail and unconvincing.

No one knew what to say, but Aria was the first to step forward and pull Alison into a tight, warm hug. It was surreal; as if it hadn't even hit her that the blonde was alive until she hugged her and felt that she was real. Each girl had questions, but for now they allowed themselves to embrace their long lost friend and revel in the fact that she was alive. She hugged CeCe last, and CeCe found it incredibly difficult to let go of her sister. She wanted so badly to tell Alison the truth, but knew that now wasn't the time.

"Is she really gone?" she heard Alison whisper into her ear, and CeCe's could feel her heart break. She hadn't expected Alison to ask, and struggled to find her voice.

"Yes, Ali," she murmured, and felt Alison's hug tighten briefly before she pulled away, offering CeCe a small, sad smile as she blinked back unshed tears.

The sound of rustling sounded from the forest again, and each girl whirled around to face whatever had made the noise.

"Was that a rabbit too, Spencer?" Hanna hissed, remaining unanswered by the taller brunette.

The sound came again, closer now, and it was Emily who first spotted the shadowy assailant between the trees. Without warning, she broke out into a run in the direction of the masked figure who, for two years, had held her best friend captive. Emily, timid as she usually was, had always been loyal to a fault and CeCe, who had called out her name as she began pursuing A, knew that there was no way she'd be able to stop her stubborn girlfriend from going after the person who had caused Alison so much pain. So, CeCe ran after her, not needing to look back to see if the others were following her when she heard their quick footsteps behind her.

The hooded figure had made to flee when he saw Emily pursuing him. With deadly determination, the brunette shoved aside low-hanging branches and swiftly winded through trees as she chased the culprit's unpredictable path. She was gaining on him, but not quickly enough. In a stroke of luck, however, he stumbled slightly over what seemed to be a tree root poking up covertly from the earth. It wasn't nearly enough to trip him and he continued to run, but the hindrance provided by the log slowed him enough that she was able to get within feet of him. Impulsive as it were, Emily, fueled by the hatred she'd accumulated over years of living in fear of her assailant's torture, lunged at the tall, hooded figure, knocking them both ungracefully to the forest floor.

It was then that the others finally caught up to her, stopping when they saw Emily and their stalker lying on the ground. Each girl was panting, but ignored their exhaustion at the realization that, at last, they were face-to-face with a powerless A. Emily scrambled to her feet, approaching the others and immediately being pulled into the safe embrace of CeCe. Aria and Hanna moved to the other side of A, who still hadn't gotten to his feet, to prevent him from fleeing. They began to wonder, after a moment, whether he was even conscious, when he finally began to stand up.

"Take off your mask!" Spencer spat, watching as A glanced from side to side. Emily began to wish they'd brought a weapon or something to give them some leverage over the very unpredictable figure in front of them.

"Take it off!" Aria reiterated, just as harshly.

Emily's heart was in her throat as he began to reach for his hood. Everything was silent, not even the song of birds was heard and the only noise came from a gentle breeze rustling the leaves of trees reaching high above. He removed his hood first, and then the mask that covered his face, and was met with audible gasps from all those surrounding him.

"Jason?" Alison's voice held infinite emotions that Emily couldn't even begin to dissect. Her brother's name was spoken in a breath, shaky and pained. Her deep blue eyes welled with tears of betrayal, and reflected only the hurt she felt at the sight of her own brother before her.

He got to his feet and looked around, meeting the eyes of every shocked girl around him but Alison. His gaze lingered on CeCe, and she shifted uncomfortably under the heavy weight of his eyes.

"Have you told her?" he asked, and Emily immediately wanted to wipe the small smirk that played at his lips off of his face. CeCe gazed evenly back at him, and Emily could feel her stiffen at the question.

"Told me what?" Alison's asked, her voice cracking.

"Jason…" CeCe started to plead, but her voice quickly trailed off and she just looked to Alison with regret in her eyes.

"Told me what, CeCe?" Alison asked again.

CeCe dropped her gaze to the ground, unable to spend another moment watching fear, shock, and a plethora of other emotions swimming around in Alison's eyes. She'd kept the secret from the younger blonde for so long, not wanting to ruin Alison's relationship with her family the way it had been ruined for CeCe all those years ago. Alison deserved to believe that her family was perfect. Or, at least, as perfect as the lying, manipulating Dilaurentis' could be. However, she also deserved to know the truth. It was hardly fair that everyone around Alison knew the truth that she didn't, so, CeCe took a breath and prepared an explanation. It was funny; for so long CeCe had thought up exactly how she would tell Alison when she finally had the chance to. She'd rehearsed a million ways to tell her, but now, with the shock of her brother's betrayal still fresh in her mind and the pitying gazes of those around her, every rehearsal was suddenly gone and her mind drew a complete blank.

"15 months before Jason, your... our mother," she corrected after a brief pause, before taking a breath and continuing. "Our mother had me."

Alison's eyebrows knitted together in what appeared to be confusion. CeCe cast a quick glance towards Jason, who was viewing the scene with a sick look of enjoyment, one that CeCe had never seen on his generally placid face.

"You mean... We're sisters?" Alison asked hesitantly, clearly trying to understand CeCe's implications.

"We're sisters," CeCe confirmed in a voice hardly above a breath.

"But that's not all, is it _sis_?" Though an unsettling smile lingered on his face, Jason spat the last word with considerable venom. "Why don't you tell her how they locked you away? How long was it, Ce? 17 years?"

CeCe didn't even turn to face Alison, who was gaping at her as her brain frantically attempted to understand the disconnected, unsettling truths Jason was forcing out of CeCe. The small blonde hardly even noticed her girlfriend gently squeezing her hand or the way dark eyes gazed sadly down at her. Though CeCe blinked back tears, one allowed itself to fall and rolled down her cheek as she stood without the will to wipe it away.

"Why, Jason?" Alison asked in a small, nervous voice that broke CeCe's heart. Screwed up as their family was, Alison never deserved all of this.

"You know," Jason began, turning to face his little sister, who was standing close to Spencer as the taller brunette attempted to offer comfort. "I always thought that with my little brother gone, I'd finally be the perfect child our parents needed." CeCe visibly flinched at the word "brother", and it didn't go unnoticed by Alison, who was beginning to put together the pieces of the puzzle being laid out before her.

"But then," he let out a small, bitter laugh. " _But then,_ you came along, and once again I was second best. And it never stopped, I was always living in your shadow, Ali. Nothing more than the 'alcoholic brother of the Queen of Rosewood'."

From the way his speech occasionally slurred and his erratic way of speaking, Emily began to wonder if Jason was drunk at that very moment.

"So, what?" Hanna cut in, visibly fuming. "You were jealous of your sister so you thought you'd torture all of us for three years?"

"You _deserved_ it," Jason spat, stepping closer to Hanna to emphasize his point. The smaller blonde immediately stepped backwards, quickly smelling the heavy odour of beer in his breath. "You all deserved to learn what you were doing to the rest of us. I wasn't the only one you girls tortured, you know. The people who helped wanted you to hurt as much as we did."

CeCe glanced at Emily in time to see guilt wash over her features. She wanted to comfort her girlfriend, to let her know that they days of Alison's posse were in the past, but still had a hell of a lot more questions for Jason.

However, any questions that she could possibly force out of her tight throat and spinning mind were quickly cast aside when the sound of footsteps soon reached her ears. They all turned at once to see a group of police officers, with Toby at the head, racing towards them. They rushed past the girl's without hesitation and it was Toby that pinned Jason up against a near, wide-trunked birch tree and began skillfully handcuffing him. The generic reading of Jason's rights didn't even process in CeCe's mind and she turned her attention to Emily, who gazed back at her with eyes full of emotion.

"CeCe," Emily breathed, wanting to say more but, really, what was there to say? Emily was so overwhelmed, she couldn't even begin to comprehend how it must all feel for CeCe and Alison, and Spencer as well for that matter, to have been betrayed by their own brother.

Knowing that there weren't any words in the world that would be enough after what had just happened, Emily opted for pulling CeCe into her arms and holding her with a mix of protectiveness and utter love. CeCe allowed herself to relax into the taller girl's touch, and melted into the embrace when Emily rested her head atop CeCe's.

With a small, comforting kiss to the blonde's temple, Emily murmured "Let's go home."


End file.
